Who are you?
I was born in Bowling Green, OH, to young married student parents. My first home was the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. ‘frat house’ on the campus of BGSU. My Dad was the house president, and Mom was the ‘den mother’ on paper only. My fraternity ‘Uncles’ gave me the nickname ‘Chipper’ due to my passion for potato chips, and it’s no secret that as a baby, I was unapologetically used by the frat brothers to attract their dates to the house.
I was reared in Toledo, and after 9th grade at St. Ursula, I moved to Ann Arbor, MI for high school. I have a BA in Journalism from Michigan State University, and attended The City University in London, England to study International Journalism.
I enjoyed 18 years as a Journalist at The Blade newspaper, before moving to the Toledo Lucas County Public Library where I’ve worked for the past 12 years. Raising my now college freshmen twin daughters, my faith, and a commitment to servant leadership have been my greatest joys in life.
Friends say I’m a people connecter, fun to be around, smart, and confident, a mini-Oprah of sorts without the money. My hashtag is #RhondaHasSpoken
Ok, here are a few random questions. Have fun:
1. What book has influenced you the most?
Kindred by Octavia Butler
2. What small changes could drastically improve most people’s lives?
Removing meat from their diets.
3. Are humans getting better through the generations? Please explain.
Yes, by divine order, humans’ have yet to reach their fullest capacity, and the more we know with each new generation, the more we improve – like Moore’s Law. (transistors in chips/circuits double every 24 months due to time and use).
4. If you could witness any event of the past, present, or future, what would it be?
Billie Holiday singing in a club during the Harlem Renaissance (heck, just witnessing the black excellence and creativity of the Harlem Renaissance alone would be just fine for me …)
5. If you could advise your younger self, what would you say?
Don’t give him your number!!!
6. Does an ideal Government exist?
Yes, one run by women.
7. If you drop soap on the floor, is the floor clean or is the soap dirty? Please explain.
Who still uses a bar of soap? If you squeeze ‘body wash’ on the floor, the floor is clean. If you drop a bar of soap, the soap is dirty. Explanation: Body wash has wet material which would make the floor wet and clean; however, a bar of soap needs other properties such as water and scrubbing to make the floor clean – thus, the bar of soap would attract dirt particles on it from the floor to make the bar of soap dirty. Make sense?
8. Can you picture the child you once were, what were they really good at?
Talking to God.
9. What concerns you about our collective future? Does it matter if it isn’t even here yet?
My greatest concern is war in the future. Concerns of war matter in our collective future immensely, because our present behavior could prevent our future outlook.
10. What is something that everyone looks stupid doing?
Sneezing.
11. If you could only keep five possessions, what would they be?
My costume jewelry collection, my home, my original copy of Langston Hughes’ book The Dream Keeper, my maternal grandmother’s pedestal sideboard, and my Passport.
12. What’s the most ridiculous fact you know?
Not sure if it’s ridiculous, but I know that Billie Holiday burned her hair with a curling iron before going on stage to perform, so she grabbed some white gardenia flowers, given to her by a fan, from her dressing room to cover the mistake, and the placement of gardenias worn on one side of her hairline become her trademark signature look.
13. If humans still exist in 10,000 years time, what will civilization look like?
Full of Artificial Intelligence and giant people.
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Have you secured your ticket yet to TEDxToledo 2018? It’s probably a good idea to do that now.
