Akilah Bailey

Psychology, Art, & Business

My name is Akilah Bailey. I am originally from Harlem, NY and plan to pursue a PsyD in Psychology to become a Psychiatrist or Psychologist. With a goal of helping children especially who may feel misunderstood and get misdiagnosed by people who don't sincerely care about them. Especially those of color and I feel like their troubles would be better understood by someone who looks like them. Although I have a firm career goal of working with children. I was interested in attending a university where I will be exposed to and have the opportunity to explore a wide range of potential career paths. Which is why I believed Duke would be a great fit for me. My intention is to alleviate some stigma that surrounds mental illness among young people. I was a part of the Future Leaders cohort at my school and I am a member of the National Honor Society. One of my hobbies include Art. Art serves to be a great stress reliever and mood booster for me. It's rewarding to create something beautiful for other people to enjoy, as well as for my own satisfaction. I've always been one of those students who chooses art as their extracurricular activity every year. By creating a Tik Tok and instagram page dedicated to my work, I was able to give my creative endeavors a public forum. Not only that I was given the role to design my grades official senior shirt as well as a shirt for signing day. To develop my skills and knowledge in this area, I plan to enroll in additional art classes and consider making art my college minor. Also, I've done artwork for my school such as murals. As well as selling my art to my teachers, family, and friends.