Media executive’s advice to Albany State students: It’s your life, own it

ALBANY — The Albany State University Center for Teaching, Learning and Scholarship began its Black History Month series of events on Thursday with a lecture featuring media executive and ESPN executive editor Amy DuBois Barnett.

Barnett is an award-winning media executive whose vision has helped shape the pages of Harper’s Bazaar, Essence, Teen People, Honey and Ebony magazines. She has also appeared as an on-air correspondent for CNN’s “American Morning” and has been featured on the “Today” show,” “Good Morning America,” “The Early Show,” “Nightline” and on VH1, MTV and BET.

At ASU Thursday, she began her lecture talking about “firsts.”

“If you haven’t seen the movie ‘Hidden Figures’ yet, go see it. It’s inspirational but also very cool. That movie really hit home for me because my mother was also a ‘first,’” Barrett said. “I am very lucky to have her as an example. In addition to being an awesome, loving mother she was also a terrific human being and a ground-breaker in her own field.

“She was the first black person to get a PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago, which was a big deal in the ’60s. Then she became a professor at Princeton and rose through the ranks of academia to eventually become the president of the University of Houston and the first black woman in the country to run a major research university.”

Barnett used her mom as an example of firsts and the growth that comes with the effort, even if it results in failure.

“When I was 22 years old and right after I graduated from college, she passed away. I was brought up strong, but I was still 22 and awkward. At 22 you might not know as much about the world as you think you do, and I knew nothing,” Barrett said. “When she died, I was very insecure. I never made decisions for myself. During that time, I was also in flux. I was working in a job that I hated. I was already a hot mess, and then my mom died.

“I fell into a deep depression. I couldn’t do anything, I couldn’t move. So one day I was wandering around my little room and saw a picture of me and my mom on the dresser. I suddenly had a realization, it was almost religious. I realized she is not coming to save me. Some of us, admit it or not, are waiting for someone to come along and save us and make it all better.”

It was at that moment that Barnett said she realized that she would have to do the heavy lifting to get herself out of her funk.

“Nobody can crawl inside of your own skin and live your life for you. That’s the big realization,” she said. “Nobody, no matter how much they love you, can be responsible for your happiness. That’s really all up to you. I thought, ‘Oh, snap. My happiness and my life are up to me alone. It’s all on me.’

“It was a terrifying feeling. On the other hand, it was the most powerful feeling I have ever experienced. It was like a philosophical wave. I changed the way I saw my entire life. Because of that, I started making decisions for myself. So, be true to yourself. It’s your life.”