A Personal Head Start Story: Dr. Chanda Nicole Holsey

Head Start provided a foundation for me to reach higher heights and deeper depths.

I am Dr. Chanda Nicole Holsey and before I attended any other educational institutions, I was a Head Start kid.

I hail from Los Angeles, California; however, I resided in the Atlanta area for 15 years after I completed college. I attended graduate school in Atlanta. I went to Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and earned a Masters of Public Health (MPH) degree. Later, I elected to enroll back into graduate school at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), School of Public Health, to complete the goal of earning a terminal degree. In 2005, I graduated with a Doctor of Public Health degree in the area of Maternal and Child Health.

One of my proudest professional experiences was being recognized by the Federal Head Start Bureau as one of 11 former Head Start Program Success Stories. This happened on November 30, 2005, at the Head Start 40th Year Anniversary Celebration in Maryland.

Another memorable accolade that happened that same year, was being asked to give the keynote address to a group of Head Start parents in a Los Angeles program at their Policy Council Recognition Dinner. This was humbling for me because I was able to impact Head Start parents in the same city in which I began my vast educational career as a Head Start student. I was able to be an encouragement and help parents realize how far their children could succeed in life.