Symphonie D. Smith grew up on The University of Akron campus, arriving here at age 11, a student with great potential, to take part in the Strive Toward Excellence Program. Through STEP’s academic, social and cultural enrichment programs, UA also became the place where the youngster learned she could make her dreams come true.
Symphonie D. Smith
STEP is one of five Academic Achievement Programs offered at UA to prepare talented but underserved Akron area students to succeed in college. Four are federally funded, and STEP is an endowed program that was funded by a gift from the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in 1987. To date, more than 600 “Firestone Fellows,” including Smith, have graduated from STEP.
Encouraged to dream
“Through STEP and the Upward Bound program in high school, I gained a healthy awareness of the real and perceived limitations of a person who finds herself at the intersection of African American, first generation and low-income,” Smith told the members of UA’s Board of Trustees during a recent presentation on her Akron Experience. “Thanks to people like Debra Stone and Coleen Curry, (Academic Achievement Program administrators) I gained the confidence to be curious and to dream, despite my background.”
Pictured at the April Board of Trustees meeting are, from left, Coleen Curry, director of Academic Achievement Programs; Student Trustee Matthew Hull; Debra Stone, STEP coordinator; Symphonie Smith; and Dr. Sheldon Wrice, associate dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences.
Today, the Akron native and graduate of St Vincent-St. Mary High School is working on a doctorate in counselor education and supervision at UA, having already earned a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy/counseling here. Smith did her undergraduate work at Ohio University, majoring in family studies and Spanish, and minoring in business.
Since her return to UA, Smith has been active on campus and in her future profession. She was part of the inaugural board for Delta Kappa Lambda, an international honor society for marriage and family therapists, and was one of the first two research fellows ever chosen from Ohio for the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Minority Fellowship Program. With Dr. Robert Schwartz, a professor in the School of Counseling, Smith co-authored her first published article, related to racial differences in mental health diagnoses. In August, she will begin a 10-month teaching internship at Walsh University.
Stone, STEP coordinator, and Curry, director of Academic Achievement Programs, attended Smith’s presentation and are not surprised by her achievements, said Curry.
Positive trajectory
“Although we have just recently adopted the tag line, ‘From Potential… to Purpose… to Power…,’ Symphonie is a perfect example of what these programs mean in the life trajectory of our participants,” she noted.
After graduation in May 2017, Smith plans to pursue a tenure track faculty position, supervise therapists and counselors, and continue to conduct therapy and research.
“The University of Akron has provided me with many examples of how to nurture potential and given me the tools to accomplish this for those who find themselves in my sphere of influence; especially the underserved, underrepresented and often overlooked,” Smith told her audience. “I am simply grateful that The University of Akron chose not to overlook me, so that I could stand before you all today.”