Published November 2, 2022

When Takesha Leonard archetypal came to UB arsenic an undergraduate pupil from the Bronx, she felt the profound disorientation that comes with being successful a wholly caller environment. That subsided arsenic she recovered her spot amid a assemblage she soon came to love. When, 20 years aft graduating with her BSN, she returned to UB to implicit a psychiatric intelligence wellness caregiver practitioner certification, she says it felt similar coming home.

Leonard, a caregiver practitioner and aesculapian manager astatine Jericho Road Community Health Center’s Doat Street site, sat down precocious with UBNow to speech astir what makes her — and keeps her — True Blue.

Outside of household bonds — her hubby is besides an alumnus, and 1 of their sons is eyeing UB for his dreams of med schoolhouse — it’s the improvement of the university’s civilization of diverseness that makes her astir proud.

“I came present arsenic a 17-year-old pupil from the Bronx. And though I saw different Black and brownish students, I didn’t spot a batch of Black and brownish radical successful administration, successful higher levels of support, professors and roles similar that,” Leonard says. But that’s changing, she says. Now, arsenic she continues to enactment with UB arsenic a teacher and mentor, she sees workshops happening, conversations taking spot and opportunities increasing.

Through her enactment astatine Jericho Road, Leonard launched a aesculapian mentorship programme that gives precocious schoolhouse students successful Buffalo’s East Side communities entree and penetration into fields successful wellness attraction and medicine. She says the School of Nursing played an instrumental part, hosting participants for a time of tours, talks and demonstrations successful the simulation lab.

Leonard is thrilled to beryllium capable to support these ties.

“I truly emotion my school,” she says, “and I’m excited astir bringing that emotion astatine the bosom of UB to our communities and to different students.”

Her ain acquisition is the inspiration.

“It’s a spot wherever you tin find yourself. It’s a large school, but you tin find your location here. Students coming present get the accidental to research antithetic fields and to dream. They get to imagination large present — and that’s beauteous cool.”