Today, Nselaa Ward is a Juris Doctor and the CEO of one of the top business architect firms in the country, Ni’ Nava & Associates. But like some other women who are now celebrated success stories, she had to overcome adversity early on to rise from the ashes.
Nselaa Ward was born in North Carolina and life gave her a rough start — she became a child sex worker in a community that also had a crack cocaine problem. However, she didn’t let that hold her back — she embraced a love of learning that helped put her on a new path. More specifically, she had a knack for academics and as a result was able to attend the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics for gifted students. She continued this momentum by earning a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from North Carolina Central University, followed by a law degree from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.
As a former practicing attorney, focusing on business law, Nselaa worked with countless cases that involved bankruptcy. She was in a unique position to more closely examine the reasons why some businesses fail. She also learned through studying the deep emotional relationship between an entrepreneur and a business, and wanted to do something to help business owners succeed. While she headed up a number of her own businesses including a tech company, it was the loss of one of her own ventures that really kicked her current business model into gear. Thanks to the contacts she had made along her path, she was able to tap the top talent to form Ni’ Nava & Associates.
She’s also no stranger to the spotlight, having been invited to speak at TEDx about leadership, as well as visiting universities and corporations around the world. She has also emerged as a rebellious former attorney during the Black Lives Matter movement, where she is noted to have liberated over 300 years of black lives from possible prison. She was also a key organizer and speaker behind the 2004 March for Women’s Lives that drew more than a million supporters, becoming the largest march on Washington in the history of the United States for its time.
We asked Nselaa, after having overcome so many obstacles and achieved so many accomplishments, who does she see as powerful role models. Nselaa Ward discusses powerful women of the 21st century who have overcome obstacles to ultimately succeed.
Hip Hop Star’s Challenging Start
Another household name who dealt with challenges early on is Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Nicki Minaj, who was born in Trinidad and cared for by her grandmother before living with her parents in Queens, New York. However, her father was already struggling with a crack cocaine problem that spilled over into Minaj’s life and she lived in fear of abuse.
Like Nselaa Ward, Minaj found her way through adversity by turning to education, attending respected arts school Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in New York. It was there that she honed her stage skills as well as her distinctive singing voice. She has become a role model for not only young performers but also feminists, after enduring her torrid childhood.
Fighting Against the Odds for Girls’ Education
When it comes to women who fight for other women’s rights and have earned a place on the world stage for it, 23-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai is a name that ranks high. As the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate, she had already become a vocal force against the Taliban that destroyed schools and forbid girls from an education. She wrote for the BBC under a moniker starting at age 11 to describe life at home under Taliban authority.
Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban for the “crime” of going to school when she was just 15. Luckily, she survived the shooting without significant brain damage and was able to return to studies in the UK, and she spoke at the UN not long after. She has since established the Malala Fund to help girls build confidence and become leaders in their respective countries.
From Poverty to a Top-Rated Television Show
A name that’s no stranger to anyone, Oprah Winfrey, is also a huge success story born from tragedy. While now considered the “Queen of Daytime TV” with the Oprah show, things weren’t always so rosy for her.
In fact, her earlier years were rife with trauma and abuse — from being raised in poverty and abused in Mississippi to being raped at age 9, she managed to overcome obstacles that led her towards a wildly successful career. This was partly thanks to her father urging a quality education for her and she credits Nashville East High School for helping her develop her unmistakable stage presence.
Thanks to her sharpened public speaking skills, she earned a full scholarship to Tennessee State University. From there she earned broadcasting stints (including becoming the host of A.M. Chicago that was later rebranded as The Oprah Winfrey Show) and as they say, the rest is history.
Final Thoughts from Nselaa Ward
Although Nselaa Ward and many other women faced obstacles that would have held others back at a younger age, they all found a way through it with the help of education to become the respected leaders they are today.
In fact, says Nselaa Ward, many of these women used their abuse and other challenges as a springboard to create a better life for themselves and encourage other girls and women to follow their examples.
