Ypsilanti, MI, USA 48197
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734.487.1849
Akia Brown
Current Student, Construction Management
Struggling to juggle -- it's the story of so many people's lives. Daily obligations seem to consume all the time there is. Akia Brown's story shows that the struggle to work toward a degree is not only possible, it is an essential step toward a successful future.
Akia Brown isn’t your typical undergraduate. She is a wife and mother; works full-time in the construction field; and owns her own company. It’s a fulfilling life, but she wants more. Her goal: to become a construction manager and develop subdivisions in what is a very male-dominated field.
“I’ve always had an interest in construction, but didn’t know what part of the field I wanted to be in,” said Akia, 29, who lives in Warren, Mich. with her husband, four children and two stepchildren.
Then, she found Eastern Michigan University’s construction management program. “Now that I’m at here at Eastern Michigan, I know what I want. I want to go all the way and earn a Ph.D.,” she said.
The road to success, though, hasn’t been easy. Akia works full-time at Jenkins Construction Company in Detroit in addition to a carrying a full load of evening classes and caring for her family. She also runs her own business, CDM Investments, which buys homes throughout Warren, Redford and Detroit, renovates them and sells them. "It’s hard to go to school, run a business and work full time, but it can be done," she said.
When Akia graduated from high school, college was the furthest thing from her mind. “I was a teen parent, so after high school, I took a two-year break from school,” she said. Then, when she was 19 years old, her god-brothers taught her how to buy HUD homes, a skill that changed her life.
“My first home was on the west side of Detroit. I fixed it up and sold it at a profit,” said Akia. “I then bought two more homes, fixed them up, rented them and then sold the properties.”
From then on, she never looked back. Akia worked hard and learned as much as she could about the residential construction business. “Through networking, I learned how to do loans on the property. Then I learned to network with contractors and subcontractors,” she said.
Akia’s success in business encouraged her to enroll in college and eventually she earned an associate’s degree in business administration from a community college. After graduation, she briefly attended two other universities before enrolling in EMU’s construction management program.
People in the industry referred her to EMU, she said, because of its excellent program. The comprehensiveness of the program and its affordability also attracted her to EMU. “Eastern Michigan was affordable and it offered an actual construction management program, unlike other schools,” she said.
“The Eastern Michigan program has given me a broader view of the entire construction industry, from general construction to management,” she added. “It teaches you the necessities of the industry.”
Her hard work has paid off. In March 2005, Akia won a scholarship from 84 Lumber, a Pennsylvania-based lumber company that is working to increase the number of minority women in the construction industry.
“I have the drive and motivation to succeed, because I don’t want to work for someone else. I made this happen and I take pride in what I do. I love seeing my accomplishments,” she said.
When she graduates from EMU in 2007, Akia plans to use her skills to provide affordable, brand new housing for women from a lower economic background. “More women need to get involved in the construction industry,” she said. “There are a lot of women architects, but not superintendents or managers. If a woman can be a laborer, why not a superintendent? I want to change that.”
Now that I’m at here at Eastern Michigan, I know what I want. I want to go all the way and earn a Ph.D.
