Commitment. Family. Excellence. These are the three words Nakia Douglas would use to describe Livingstone College. At Livingstone, Douglas fostered in a small, family environment. He also credits the college for instilling a sense of pride and self while providing an overall great experience.
“Starting freshman year we would have mock interviews, Wednesdays would be shirt and tie and my junior year I met with professors from different schools,” Douglas said.
Livingstone College offers an education to approximately 1,156 students from more than 20 states and several foreign countries. Livingstone strives to provide a holistic environment for all of its students.
Livingstone provided Douglas with classroom and real-life experiences, personal and professional development, guidance, and support. Upon his return to Dallas, Douglas wanted to make sure to visit his old neighborhood. His experiences at Livingstone and Dallas set the foundation for his personal journey and started his professional journey. They are a testament to where he came from and the man that he is today.
“While in classes at Livingstone, we had a project where we had to create a school that would define us as professional educators,” he said. “The campus our group designed was an all male campus which focused on the development of the whole student .”
Just as he envisioned at Livingstone, Douglas is the principal at the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy in Dallas, TX, which is the 1st all-male public school in the state. The academy states its mission as “to develop young men into impactful leaders through the development of their intellectual, moral, physical, social and emotional skills for the global society of tomorrow”.
“The school is very special to me,” Douglas said. 
So what’s next for the Blue Bear alum? Douglas is in the process of completing his doctorate. On his position at the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy, “If I never leave my job, I would be happy.”
Just like at Livingstone, the students under the direction of Nakia Douglas are “defining the odds” in a “total learning environment”.
For information on Livingstone College, visit http://www.livingstone.edu/