Meet Tinbete Erymas

After Mac: Higher Education Public Policy, Greenlining Institute, Berkeley, California

Background: My parents emigrated from Ethiopia, and I grew up in suburban D.C.

One thing you always have with you: My laptop. It has everything–email, schoolwork, my iCal. I take it with me everywhere.

Favorite class: I loved my “Race, Ethnicity, and Politics” class with Professor Duchess Harris. She did a really great job of linking identity to politics and demonstrating the tenuous relationship between people of color and public policy and how to effectively think of ways to change the world.

Favorite student organization: I really have appreciated my work chairing the Black and Women’s History Month Committees, as well as founding and chairing the SPEAK series here at Macalester.

What is the SPEAK series? It stands for Students Participating, Engaging, and Accessing Knowledge. Some speakers have little or no direct interaction with students.

Your inaugural speaker? Angela Davis. I wanted to bring her to campus because I’ve respected her activism and scholarship for as long as I can remember. I find so much inspriation in her work, especially in relation to feminism, antiracist activism, and prison avolition. She is truly remarkable and so down to earth. I feel honored to have brought her to campus.