When the Ones Who Carried Us See Us Rise: Legacy, Motherhood, and the Class of 2025

May 10

Hey, Collective,

I wasn’t planning to write today. But sometimes your spirit insists on speaking.

This morning, I returned to Millersville University, not just as a trustee but as a daughter of this place. A place that shaped me. A place where my forever mentor, Dr. Rita Smith-Wade-El, once poured herself into generations of scholar-activists like me.

And today, I bore witness to a full-circle moment: my dear friend, Dr. Kemah Washington, delivered the commencement address for the College of Education and Human Services. He reminded the graduates, and all of us, that we are called to serve who we once were. That our stories, our struggles, and our strength are part of a legacy far greater than ourselves.

You’ve been equipped to do hard things. Go find beauty in a life worth living, and always remember, it is you who is best positioned to serve the person you used to be. —Dr. Kemah E. P. Washington

But the moment that undid me didn’t come from the mic.
It came from the front row.
I had been watching Kemah’s mother the entire time: her stillness, her pride, her deep attentiveness.

And then, he turned toward her.
He spoke of who she had been for him. The sacrifices. The belief. The labor and the love.

That’s when the tears came.
Not the kind you tuck away, but the kind that rises from a soul remembering how far you’ve come.

She wept like someone who saw her prayers unfolding in real time.
Like someone who had carried hope through exhaustion.
Like a mother who knew that this moment was hers, too.

The Power of Discovery

There are certain truths only a mother’s gaze can hold.
To see your child rise—not only in success, but in integrity, in purpose, in voice—is its own kind of sacred.

I watched that knowing pour from Kemah’s mother like water over stone.
And I thought of all the women who never made it to the front row, but whose sacrifices live in the marrow of our becoming.

And as the auditorium filled with applause, our group chat was alive with joy. Friends and family watching from livestream, texting screenshots, CAPS LOCK celebration, and hyping Kemah up in real time.

Our friend, Jess, wrote, “The smile on Amber’s face is everything for me.” And honestly? It was everything for me, too.

To be there.
To witness.
To be part of a community that celebrates out loud, in real time, without hesitation.

We will always cheer each other on. That’s the kind of family we’ve become.

The Power of Discernment

This Mother’s Day weekend, we honor not just the graduates, but the ones who carried them physically and spiritually.
The ones who labored in faith.
The ones who made a way when there wasn’t one.
The ones who sat in quiet corners and prayed over our lives.

Rita was that for me. She didn’t just teach me how to think. She challenged me to live with purpose. She modeled mentorship as an act of care and disruption.

Now, in my work, especially through reverse mentorship and coaching, I hold that legacy close. I help others name their power. Not because they need fixing, but because they’ve already been formed by truth they may have forgotten.

The Power of Determination

This weekend, I’m moving slower. With intention. With reverence. And taking a sacred pause to honor:

The mentors who shaped us
The mamas who carried us
The students we used to be
And the people we’re still becoming

Your invitation this week:

Reflect on the ones who saw you before you saw yourself.
Send a note of gratitude or speak their name aloud.
Ask yourself: How can I serve the person I used to be?

To the Class of 2025

May you walk boldly into what’s next, knowing this:

You are the evidence. The continuation. The answered prayer of someone else’s labor of love. Don’t take it lightly. You do not rise alone. You rise with every name that held you.

And maybe, most sacred of all, you are now positioned to become the person someone else is waiting for.

If this reflection stirred something within you, I invite you to subscribe to my Substack for weekly roundups every Saturday and early access to new episode of the Living in 3D Power podcast.

As always, please go to our website to suggest further questions or topics we can discuss. Also, please listen (or re-listen) to Episode 17 of Living in 3D Power on letting your light shine. Then send it to someone who helps you feel safe enough to be misunderstood.

Suggest Podcast Questions

Together, let's keep building spaces where authenticity leads and restoration follows.

And, if you’re a courageous leader ready to move beyond performative listening and into the real work of repair, let’s connect.

You don't have to do it alone. You just have to begin.

In solidarity, action, and love,

Amber

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