Today we’d like to introduce you to Skylar Hughes.
Hi Skylar, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Absolutely. As I was preparing for this question over the past week, I ran into some difficulty. I felt like since I’m currently a student at my dream school (Duke), and I really value academic excellence, I had to explain my identity through this university. But the truth is, my identity is so much more than my academic interests, so I would like to expound on that.
I was born in Atlanta, Georgia to two beautiful parents, and I would definitely consider myself a Georgia peach. Growing up I was very artistic, I was a pre-professional ballet dancer for 16 years, played piano for 6, and sang for 5. I danced in an all-white environment, and I went through a phase of deep-rooted insecurity. I found myself constantly questioning my beauty because I looked so physically different than my peers. My senior year of high school I stopped dancing with my studio and began the journey to self-acceptance. I am by no means there, but this journey has allowed me to gauge on an internal basis, not through external merits. I’m someone who’s persevering, determined, introspective, and bubbly. But I can also be impatient, hard-headed, and self-conscious. I really enjoy meditations (in fact I meditate two times a day), watching the sunset, and solitude.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
A piece of wisdom I have gained from my mindfulness journey that I will never forget is that every human experience has a natural ebb and flow. An inhalation and an exhalation period. And through the highs and lows, I’ve recognized that I cannot control life, I can only experience its light and dark stages. I have had moments of overwhelming triumph and deafening sorrow in my 19 years, but I’m learning to accept where I am. So, while I wouldn’t say my life has been a “smooth road”, I have come to appreciate the bumps along the way.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Currently, I hope to utilize my passion for science and truth to fight the climate crisis, because environmental justice is a huge passion of mine. I am trying to understand the connection between my love for marine science and climate justice to move forward with my academic plans. I was recently accepted into the Robertson Scholars Leadership Program at Duke, which has furthered my interest and ability for leadership and community building.
I am doing an internship currently in New Orleans for the summer and will be going back to Duke in the fall to focus on sustainability, marine science, and climate change. I feel sick when I imagine sitting by any longer while the world around us spirals, and I hope to use empathy and education to change the world.
I also hope to start my own non-profit in the future, dedicated to targeting climate change from a grassroots perspective.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Mindfulness, and true presence. Mindfulness grants me the blessing to know what it is like to live life continuously, instead of in conceptualized moments.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: _skylar,hughes
Image Credits
Terrell Antoni
