BOISE, Idaho — A Boise State senior called on her university to do more to promote Black History Month on campus - and that's just the beginning for her vision.
Nijah Oliver is working to help future minority students have a smoother transition into the Boise State college community.
"I feel the weight of stereotypes that are cast upon me before I'm even able to open my mouth, before I'm even able to show who I am," she said.
Nijah grew up in Long Beach, California - an environment she says was very different than the one she found in Idaho. Only 2 percent of Boise State's student population is black.
"When I came to Boise, people told me 'I have never met a black person' - what do you say to that?" she said. "Naturally, you kind of feel out of place, even if everyone is amazing to you."
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During her freshman year, Nijah joined the Black Student Alliance, but now believe more could be done to make minority students like her feel more comfortable on campus.
Although the clubs are conducted by students with good intentions, she said, an "institutional push" might go farther. When February rolled around, she asked herself a question.
"If I were a white American in Boise, would I even care about Black History Month?" she asked. "Don't we owe it to these patriotic students to pay homage to the black figures who helped create this country that they so unabashedly show love for?"
So Nijah took action, reaching out to Boise State department heads voicing her concerns. She received a strong response, and immediate help from the university's social media team.
Nijah worked with sketch artist Isabel Everett to highlight black figures on Boise State's Instagram and Twitter pages. The artist renderings depict people like Henrietta Lacks - the source of one of the most important human cell lines in medical research - tennis champion Serena Williams and jazz musician Gene Harris.
"It's not like a grand 'you have to save the world, you have to learn everything,'" Isabel explained. "It's a 'here's a start.'
As a filmmaking student, Nijah is also doing work of her own to spark a change in mindset. She's currently casting for her newest short film, titled "Student-athlete."
"I couldn't imagine being a black student at Boise State, experiencing what I experienced and having the pressures of being an athlete on top of it - having the pressure to perform in front of thousands of people, bringing in the university money as all universities do, and I thought, 'OK what if I could merge those.' And that's what I'm doing in this upcoming film," she said. "If not relatable, I want it to be easy to understand for people who haven't experienced it themselves."
Even university president Dr. Marlene Tromp has reached out to Nijah. They plan to discuss her points and brainstorm how the university can help future students as she prepares to graduate.
Nijah is in the process of starting her own production company. She wants to use the power of film to advocate for black Americans and acknowledge of racial diversity. You can keep up with her work at her website, nijaholiver.com.
"Black history doesn't stop existing after a few days - American history doesn't stop existing after a few days. It doesn't just have to be one month," Nijah said. "I was given this color for a reason, you know, people were given different features and everything for a reason, so why would we not acknowledge them?"