The Reverend Brenda Howard Tapia Honored by Davidson College

The Reverend Brenda H. Tapia changed lives at Davidson College through education, friendship, and love. Her students say she made magic happen. Today, we are proud to announce that the Davidson College Freedom School will be re-named The Brenda Tapia CDF (Children’s Defense Fund) Freedom Schools®, housed at the Ada Jenkins Center.

The Reverend Brenda Tapia was a beloved mother figure who, through the Davidson College Love of Learning program, shaped young people’s understanding of themselves and showed them how they could become agents of change. She taught her students—Black teens who were selected through an application process to come to Davidson College during the summer—about who they were and whose they were.

“Rev. Brenda Tapia’s unwavering dedication to education, justice and love lives on through The Brenda Tapia CDF Freedom Schools®, a partnership in which Davidson College gratefully and proudly joins,” said President Doug Hicks ’90. “Today, we honor and extend her legacy of transforming lives and fostering a lifelong love of learning.”

The six-week summer program in Davidson was started in 2005 by the college. The program enrolls 50 youth each year, and six Davidson students support the program as servant leader interns. Participant outcomes show the program consistently supports learning gains, compared to the all-too-common learning loss that can occur during the summer.

For more on this honor, please read here.