Celebrating 10 Years of Webster Suggs Scholars: Emerald DuBose

Webster University’s Dr. Donald M. Suggs Scholarship program is 10 years old this year. Webster is reaching out to some of the 37 students or alumni who benefited from the program to feature their personal and professional successes.

Emerald DuBose coined a new term recently when asked how she would describe herself since coming to Webster. The undergrad Psychology major said she’s no longer a dreamer, but a “goal-er.”

“Over the two years that I’ve been here, Webster has shown me that everything I want is attainable and not too far-fetched,” she explained. “Before coming to the university, I had a lot of ideas and things that I wanted to do, create, and be. Coming to Webster has changed those dreams into goals.”

Among those goals? Opening a mental health center specifically for Black children in the St. Louis area. 

DuBose, who is also pursuing a Management minor and a certificate in Expressive Arts Therapy, aims to become a social worker and future non-profit business owner with the power to uplift some of the community’s most vulnerable young people. 

“I want to give them the tools needed to cope with the things that they face on a daily basis,” she said. “But through the lens of art, hence the Art Therapy certificate.” 

The oldest of five siblings and a proud, regular volunteer at her former High School, Lift for Life Academy, the St. Louis native already spends much of her time connected to the city’s young people. 

At Webster, she’s dedicated to mentorship and service through her multiple roles as a peer counselor, a student ambassador, and the vice president for Webster’s chapter of the Association of African American Collegians. As if those duties weren’t enough on their own, she also finds the time to work at her mother’s local bakery, Natalie’s Cakes and More.

“I help wherever help is needed,” DuBose said. 

She also shared that she’s no stranger to the kind of hardships, large and small, and that she wants her life’s work to help other young people find their way through. Now navigating a recent Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis that has perhaps knocked her down but certainly not out, DuBose was adamant that she remains more committed than ever to completing her degree and seeing her goals to fruition. 

“Basically, this is a time where life gets really real, real fast and I’m just trying to keep up and not give up, even when I feel like I have every right to,” she said.

On pushing through and staying the course, DuBose named one thing about Webster as perhaps the most special, and certainly the thing that continually encourages her above all else at the University – its people. 

“The people here at Webster have been very special to me,” she said, specifically calling out Chief Diversity Officer Vincent Flewellen as being amongst the most influential. “Mr. Vincent has gone above and beyond when it comes to making sure that I have all of the resources that I need and connecting me to people that he thinks would be of any kind of help to me. He is just a one-of-a-kind type of person. Furthermore, he’s a man of his word. There’s not one idea or situation that I’ve brought to him that he didn’t do exactly what he said he would do.”

DuBose said it’s that powerful model of service and intentionality that she returns to again and again, aims to master herself, and advises other students to commit to as well. 

“My advice would be to be intentional about every decision that you make,” she said. “It makes a world of difference.” 

She also recommends listening to one’s own heart. 

“As cliche as it sounds, you’re literally the only person that knows exactly what you need,” DuBose said. “I don’t care if it’s switching your major from Business to Psychology, like I did, or deciding what you’re going to eat for dinner, or even deciding if you’re going to go to class today. Only you know when and what you need.”

About the Suggs Scholarship

The Dr. Donald M. Suggs Scholarship was established to honor Dr. Donald M. Suggs, an oral surgeon, newspaper publisher, patron of the arts, and distinguished community leader, and is administered by The St. Louis American Foundation. The scholarship is designed to enhance recruitment and retention of academically talented undergraduate students from communities that are typically under-represented in higher education. The funding for the Webster University Dr. Suggs Scholarship Program is provided by Webster University. A committee of staff volunteers helps select students for the program. Webster University has 32 students currently enrolled in the program, more than double that of any other participating institution of higher education.