“I used to bake cupcakes and sell them at school. I called
my business “Cutie Cupcakes”! I was only in the 3rd grade at the time. Along
with my cupcake sales I would clean my great aunt’s house and her friends on
weekends and let’s just say I made a great living.”
Years later, Henry is in pursuit of her next big business
idea. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies
with a concentration in agricultural science and environmental sciences, the
go-getter attended the 2016 Women’s Business Enterprise National Council
Student Entrepreneur Program. There, Henry connected with another FAMU alum-
Cheryl Harris, vice president of Sourcing & Procurement Solutions at
Allstate who now serves as her mentor.
“She took me under her wing and shared personal and professional advice with me. She invited me to dinner with her procurement team of five other women and we laughed, cried, and built a bond that I am excited to continue. The great thing about Mrs. Harris is that she spared no expense when it came to her role as a mentor. She has offered to help me in more ways than I could have ever imagined,” Henry said.
Harris praised Henry’s performance at the conference and is
excited to assist her mentee as she enters the Booth School of Business at the
University of Chicago this fall.
“I will work to support Mariah in any way that she needs
support – from being a mentor/coach to providing feedback on academic projects
she’s working on; facilitating the creation of a network- connecting Mariah to
other experts that may have the requisite skills and experiences to help her in
areas where I cannot, and assist her in thinking about the path forward – about
what’s next for her after her MBA,” Harris said.
The Allstate executive went on to say that mentorship was
key in her own development and she feels an obligatory nudge to help Rattlers
that come after her.
“I have a gratefulness to FAMU – one that stems from my
belief that it is my experience(s) at FAMU coupled with the lessons and values
I learned from my family that have shaped me to be the person that I am today.
For this reason, I believe it is important to pay it forward and give back to
FAMU. I can do that by helping Mariah.”
Henry is also poised and braced to impact the world in a
major way.
“I think now is the perfect time in our society to be an
inspiration and fight to build a legacy that will help others reach their
potential while striving to build a strong black economy in our communities. I
am running towards the front line and I know that there will be successes,
failures, supporters, and the naysayers but with a strong team and the Lord on
my side, I will stand up after every fall.”