" As Miss Michigan, I was able to speak to students all over the state and had the opportunity to IMPACT YOUNG PEOPLE..."
18 years. She said Spratt has a gift of sowing into others and instilling greatness and development. “She’s very supportive of other people’s dreams,” said Lemon, senior publicist for Lemon Lime Light Media and 2011 CAU graduate. “If it wasn’t for UNCF, I wouldn’t be able to stay in college. UNCF gave me a path because I went from receiving a UNCF scholarship to now doing public relations for UNCF. She was also one of my pageant coaches during homecoming. She was mentoring us on life lessons, etiquette and how to conduct ourselves as young women. We learned a lot about each other in terms of being in a space where we’re uplifting each other.”
She enrolled in the dual-degree program where she studied mathematics at CAU and engineering at Georgia Tech to receive a degree in mathematics and industrial engineering. She later received her MBA in marketing from CAU in 2008 where she met her husband and television personality Dalen Spratt. Her love affair with HBCUs began at birth. Spratt was born into a family of HBCU graduates from Howard University, Clark-Atlanta University and Morehouse. Her father, Terry Lee, was honored by UNCF’s legendary Evening of the Stars event for creating a CAU scholarship fund for Black and Brown dual degree engineering students. She now follows suit with her philanthropy.
tt . Stacey Lee Spratt . Stacey Lee Spratt . Stacey Lee Spratt . Stacey Lee Spratt . Mississippi. In high school, she won prom and homecoming queen, and in college she received the title of First Attendant “I was raised up understanding and raised up experiencing giving,” said Spratt. “I support CAU, I give scholarships to students who attend, and I support the Spirit of Greatness Gala, a huge fundraising gala. I also hire and mentor young people that Leadership, Spratt said, is learning from people everyday on what type of leader to be and not to be and attributes communications as the most important aspect of leadership.
“Being a student leader, we had to have those skills as well. Leading orientation, being the first runner up to Miss CAU, starting a business, having biz partners require communication and leadership skills.” At first, participating in pageants was a way Spratt’s mother could “sneak” her in a dress, she said. Spratt was actually a self-proclaimed “tomboy,” but she fell in love with dressing up and winning. “I enjoyed competition in terms of sports like basketball, football,” she recalled. “Pageants were just another competition for me. I just love the beauty, the elegance, the glitz and the glamour.” In addition to her poise and beauty, her athletic prowess opened doors for Spratt. She had scholarship offers from Division 2 and 3 schools, but she always knew she wanted to go to CAU to follow in the footsteps of her parents.
attended not only CAU but other HBCUs. Giving is never ending; it doesn’t just stop at graduation. Outside of dollars, you can give your knowledge, ideas, thoughts to these young people to help them in terms of whatever their dreams and goals are. Sometimes we can have a ‘crab in the barrel’ mentality, but for me, everything belongs to God and what he’s provided in terms of knowledge, opportunities is what I want to share with the next person.”
Miss CAU. But she didn’t stop there. Spratt’s poise, confidence and platform around women’s health earned her the title of Miss Michigan 2004. She went on to compete in Miss USA 2004. “You have to have confidence to compete in pageants,” she said. “Walking in front of thousands of people in a swimsuit is very humbling. It was great for me because I was able to use my platform to raise money for breast and ovarian cancer. As Miss Michigan, I was able to speak to students all over the state and had the opportunity to impact young people – and that’s what I do today. Now, full circle, I’m doing that same important, impactful work, so participating in pageants was definitely a plus. It definitely helped and prepared me for the work I do now.”
One of her mentees, La’Torria Lemon, has kept in contact with Spratt for
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