FAMU Made: Alyssa Summers Projected Her Voice at FAMU, Now She’s Using It on the World Stage
On Friday, Dec.12, Alyssa Marie Summers will walk across the stage at Florida A&M University and close a chapter that has shaped her voice and supplied her power. A political science major with a journalism minor, the Miami native arrived on the Hill searching for a sense of connection with herself that she had never fully felt growing up. FAMU changed that.
“FAMU was actually the only school I toured,” she said, laughing at the spontaneity of her choice. What she remembers most, though, is how right it felt. Even before she unpacked in Towers North, home of the university’s Living Learning Community (LLC), she knew she had landed exactly where she was meant to be. The campus felt familiar and charged with the kind of energy that could build someone into their best self.
In the LLC, Summers sat front row in a first-year seminar taught by Valencia Matthews, Ph.D., dean of the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities. The class stretched students to understand professionalism and identity. One assignment stayed with her: a presentation on imposter syndrome and the superhero schema. It made her confront the quiet pressure she had carried for years, the feeling that she had to grind endlessly to prove that she belonged.
But Matthews also unlocked something new. She drew Summers out of her shell and into her voice.
“She got me out of my comfort zone with public speaking,” Summers said. Matthews encouraged her to project her voice and claim space. “She really had me enunciating my words and speaking with my chest and making sure the people all the way at the back of the room can hear me,” she said.
At the time, Summers didn’t know that skill would set the stage for one of the biggest moments of her college career.
Valencia Matthews, Ph.D., dean of the College of Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities
educates a room of students, who listen intently to what she has to share. (Photo
by Glenn Beil/FAMU)
From the Track to the Global Stage
Summers is more than a scholar. She is also a walk-on athlete who fought for her spot on the women’s track team. During freshmen orientation, she marched into the coach’s office and said plainly, “I want to be on this team. What do you need from me?”
That persistence led her to become a "hit" athlete specializing in several events, until she landed on the javelin and became part of the women’s team that won the SWAC Outdoor Championship in 2025.
Alyssa Summers was a walk-on for FAMU's women's track team where she eventually became
a javelenist helping the team win the 2025 SWAC Outdoor Track Championship. (Photo
special to FAMU)
Her status as a student athlete opened a door she didn’t expect. Nike recruiters visited campus during the fall career fair. Their partnership with FAMU requires hiring two to three interns each summer, and Summers, never one to sit still, applied. “My mom always says shoot for the moon and land among the stars,” she said. “So even if I didn’t think I was qualified, I tried.”
Summers gained her first internship in New York City as a Jordan Brand marketing intern. Though she had no background in marketing, she immersed herself. She sat in global strategy meetings, observed planning for sneaker launches, and spent days on set at brand photo shoots. She studied. She listened. She grew.
Nike called her back the next year. This time, the destination was Oregon.
During her second internship, Summers was selected as the only intern to moderate a Q&A with Nike’s Chief People Officer, Treasure Heinle, during the company’s intern opening day. The event took place on Nike’s largest stage, the same one where Phil Knight and Michael Jordan host major company talks. It was a full-circle moment, born from the lessons she learned in a freshman seminar led by a dean who believed she had something to say.
“I told my manager I wanted to be challenged,” she said. “She nominated me, and I got chosen.”
Alyssa Summers used what she learned at FAMU to cement an opportunity to moderate
a discussion with Nike's Chief People Officer. (Photo special to FAMU)
Oregon brought other surreal experiences. She met Nike’s CEO, who noticed her FAMU hoodie and lit up at the sight of it. “Marching 100,” he said, smiling and pointing. She met basketball greats Lisa Leslie, Anthony Davis, and soccer star Alex Morgan during Nike’s Just Do It Day. She watched former San Francisco 49'ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick walk casually across campus. She found herself in rooms she once viewed from a distance.
And she belonged in all of them.
Summers's journey at FAMU was not just academic or athletic. It was deeply personal. Growing up, she struggled to understand where she fit racially and culturally. Her parents, raised in Jamaica, where class weighs heavier than race, did not prepare her for the racial dynamics of American classrooms. She remembers straightening her hair weekly to blend in. She remembers classmates calling her "Medusa" because of her braids. She remembers her younger brother being excluded because he was "too dark."
At FAMU, she was seen and reassured.
She built a mentorship with Matthews that carried her through financial hardships, academic hurdles, and the emotional weight of navigating life as a first-generation American. “She really touched me freshman year,” Summers said. “She cared about where I was headed.”
Matthew's feelings are mutual. "From the onset, I liked Alyssa because she had a positive attitude and warm spirit. She was willing to accept the opportunity to lead early on. She applied the skill set and became stronger, ultimately producing the desired result – success,” she said.
Valencia Matthews, Ph.D., dean of the College of Sciences, Arts and Humanities is
excited for Alyssa Summers future. (Photo by Glenn Beil)
Looking Ahead
After graduation, Summers will head home to Miami for rest and family time. Jamaica, where much of her extended family lives, is recovering from a hurricane, and she plans to support relatives as they rebuild. “The resources on the island are depleted right now,” she said. “I want to be there as they recover.”
Then comes her next chapter. She has been accepted into Rutgers University’s graduate program in Newark, a campus known for its diversity and strong writing program. She is also applying for full-time positions in New York City. Her goal is to balance both, taking on a master’s program while working in the city that has already sparked her creativity.
“I thrive in busy places,” she said. “Being from Miami, I need a city that moves.”
To the 2026 incoming freshmen class, she shares the words that shaped her choices.
“Do the hard thing. You never know what trying might lead you to,” she said. “I definitely wasn’t qualified for a Nike marketing internship, but I applied anyway.”
Summers came to FAMU seeking connection. She leaves FAMU with so much more.
“Alyssa is kind-hearted, highly motivated, and community-minded, exemplified by her deep understanding that she is compelled to use her talents for good,” said Matthews. “She will do well in the world.”
And on Dec. 12, when she crosses that stage, she won’t just be graduating. She’ll be stepping forward with every shot she took at the moon, and taking the stars with her.
Alyssa Summers proudly holds the 2025 Women's Outdoor Track Championship Trophy. (Photo
special to FAMU)
Media Contact:
Rachel James-Terry
Senior Director of Strategic Communications
rachel.jamesterry@famu.edu
