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 In
the Spotlight
Marvin “Timothy” Albert
by Kristi Merriweather
For a young man known as Tim, Sir Marvin, Helix, or Mr. Albert, depending who you are to him, he is receiving something that is no longer on the far horizon. That dream, which has been nurtured for nearly ten years, is the Masters of Social Work (MSW) degree. But getting there wasn't’t easy, nor was the road straight and clear-cut.
Very few people in his life told him to go for the gold. After all, he
is the first (and the only) in his family of six to graduate from
college. And that is no small feat considering his early background
growing up in Louisiana. Tim grew up in a neighborhood where most of
his male peers were involved in gangs. He followed suit and got himself
in some trouble. Tim received a sign that he could do better and be
better. His “sign” was seeing a National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) commercial showing a young black
man graduating from high school and preparing for college. From that
moment,Tim knew it was time to get out of the gang, transfer to a
different school, and live a better life.
He enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)/ National
Technical Institute for the Deaf) NTID, where he worked as a Resident
Advisor and was a popular President of the Ebony Club. However, Tim
decided to take on the challenge of becoming the first Deaf president
of a hearing organization, overseeing all of RIT’s black Greek and
non-Greek organizations. Also, he pledged Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Inc., an international black Greek fraternity.
While working as a Resident Advisor, he discovered that helping people
was his passion. His first Vocational Rehabilitation counselor refused
to pay for his tuition to get a BA in Social Work because he had
already declared his intentions to get an associate degree in
photography and graphic design. Tim decided that he would still go for
a BA and MSW at Gallaudet University.
While juggling school, Tim served on several local and national NBDA
committees. He received two national awards from NBDA and also holds
the distinction as being the NBDA’s first and only King. Today, he is
the President of District of Columbia Area BDA (DCABDA) and on his
ninth year as NBDA Youth Empowerment Summit (Y.E.S.) Director. He also
serves as the only man on the Board of Directors for Deaf Abused Women
Network (D.A.W.N.).
Finally, he is graduating with a Masters of Social Work degree, and is
talking about getting a Ph.D in the future. Even though the road was
long, Tim knew if he just kept on walking through the detours and
bumps, he would arrived. And yes indeed, he has!
Michael E Graziano
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