Dr. Nicole Pulliam
A remix of the unforgettable question from one of my favorite movies, Brown Sugar — a story about identity, belonging, and the complicated beauty of loving something even as it changes.
This is a love letter for those of us who once fell hard for higher ed and now carry the complicated beauty, heartbreak, and hope that love leaves behind.
We remember the beginning.
Higher ed wasn’t just about learning. It was about access and opportunity — about stepping into rooms our families had never been invited into, about opening doors that could change the trajectory of our lives and those who came after us. It was about believing that education could be the bridge to something better, not just for ourselves, but for our communities.
Higher ed was purpose, possibility, and a portal to a future we had only dared imagine. It was our first professional love story.
