14 Moments in My Life that Influenced Me in 2014

1. DE NICHOLS
14 Moments I Won’t Forget from 2014

2. FERGUSON
The shooting death of Michael Brown
on August 9 in Ferguson, MO, sent a
radical shift in the hearts, life
missions, and social constructs of so
many facets of my life and
community. So much has happened
that I can’t fully articulate in this small
space, but this movement has been
at the forefront of my life--our lives--
in 2014. I’ve attempted to share
thoughts, stories, actions, and more
through my efforts with
ConnectedforJustice.com and across
my social media. As we enter 2015,
the #YearofResistance, I stay
committed to our fight for justice and
value as a people.
1

3. CLINTON
GLOBAL
INITIATIVE
The Clinton Global Initiative
University has been a transformative
experience in my life since I started
graduate school in 2012. This year,
in addition to having another initiative
featured at the conference, I also got
to speak during its opening plenary
with President Bill Clinton. The
Clinton Foundation named me one of
its 3 young leaders to watch this
year, and I ended the year by being
selected as a 2015 Commitment
Mentor for incoming commitment
makers. 2

4. KEYNOTES +
PUBLIC
SPEECHES
2014 allowed me to speak at 12
conferences and events across
the nation, from the Clinton Global
Initiative University in Arizona, to
Monumental in Washington, DC, and
even my hometown of Memphis, TN.
I also gave my first two keynote
speeches in 2014.
3

5. SOCIAL
INITIATIVES
I LED
I may have started and been a part
of quantifiably the most socially-
driven projects of my life in 2014.
From incorporating Catalysts by
Design, actualizing 1 Design Serves
in Pagedale, co-organizing 4 United
Story projects, hosting 9
FoodSparks, and launching
ConnectedforJustice (Ferguson
Beyond Today), some may say my
co-conspirators and I have “done the
most” in 2014. These will definitely
be consolidated more in 2015.
4

6. CIVIC X +
ECHOING
GREEN
In 2014, I continued to pursue
fellowships and learning
opportunities in social
entrepreneurship with my team at
Catalysts by Design. We we selected
into Points of Light’s Civic
Accelerator, and I was selected as a
Finalist for the Echoing Green
fellowship.
5

7. COMPLETING
GRAD SCHOOL
In December 2014, I finally
matriculated from the Brown School
of Social Work at Washington
University in St. Louis. In addition to
an individualized concentration in
youth and economic development, I
also specialized in social
entrepreneurship. I aim to put this
education into even more use in
2015.
6

8. FULL TIME,
FULL CIRCLE
On September 1, 2014, I was
promoted to a full time role at the
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
as its Community Engagement
Manager. CAM is one of the funnest
and creatively intriguing places in the
region, so it is an honor to bridge my
love of art, youth, community, and
social issues while there. This
opportunity comes with support from
the Crawford-Taylor family who also
had a hand in funding my
undergraduate education when I was
an Enterprise-Rent-a-Car Scholar at
Washington University in St. Louis.
7

9. COAST TO
COAST FUN
In 2014, I visited 11 major cities and
traveled a total of 46 days. Much of
it was for work, public speaking, and
social initiatives, but I also got to take
three vacation trips with my family
throughout the year.
8

10. LEARNING,
FAILING, &
GROWING
In many respects, 2014 was
awesome. However, numerous of the
goals that I started the year with
entrepreneurially were not met with
the quality, consistency, or tenacity in
which I’d planned. These moments
taught me much about myself and
set a new standard to learn better
leadership and innovation strategies.
9

11. STOLEN + NEW
CARS
On June 25, 2014 (the anniversary of
Michael Jackson’s death btw), my
car was stolen from downtown St.
Louis near my new place. It was
found 5 days later in Florrissant, MO,
and spent a month in repair shops.
On August 9, 2014 (the day that
Michael Brown was shot in
Ferguson, MO), I was home in
Memphis, TN, buying a new Ford
Fusion.
10

12. NEW
APARTMENT
In May 2014, I moved into my own
loft in downtown St. Louis, MO. This
marked my first time living by myself
in a rented space for the first time
(that one year of college doesn’t
really count since I didn’t pay rent).
This has taught me greatly about
financial discipline, paying bills,
frugality, and more. Moreso, it has
provided a sense of calm and escape
from the highly social life that I live.
11

13. HOSPITALS +
HEALTH
During the weekend of Ferguson
October, I found myself unexpectedly
in the hospital for the second time to
deal with anemia-related illness. I
received my third and fourth blood
transfusions in life and made a
commitment to not let this be a
continued trend in my life. With the
support of my health-crazed friends
and family members, I look forward
to whipping my body back into shape
and good health in 2015.
12

14. FAMILY LOVE
AS PRIORITY
2014 was a big year for my family.
My grandparents remarried after
almost 4 decades of divorce, and this
healed a huge void in our family
structure. My big brother proposed to
marry his girlfriend and high school
sweetheart. And, I learned parts of
my family history during a
Mothers+Daughters Weekend with
my mom, grandma, and cousins
during winter break. Because of
family, I feel like I’m learning more
dimensions of what “LOVE” entails.
13

15. FRIENDSHIPS+
2014 was a hard year for me when it
came to friendships. Much like 2010
when I graduated from college, 2014
was a big year of transition for me
and many people I’d known as
friends, so even though I met and
loved tons of awesome friends, I lost
touch with many. This ultimately left
me sad, jaded, (perhaps overly)
guarded, and unwilling to give my all
to a lot of old and new relationships,
which is a mentality I want to change
moving ahead in 2015. Much love to
all of the friends (like Jay to the left!!!)
who continue to make my life such a
blast regardless of how I’ve made it
this year.
14

16. CATCH MORE FROM DE AT DEANDREANICHOLS.
COM
OR CONNECT WITH DE AT…
YOUTUBE.COM/BEFREEKNOWTHYSELF
FACEBOOK.COM/DEANDREAN
INSTAGRAM.COM/DE_NICHOLS
TWITTER.COM/DE_NICHOLS
CHEERS TO
MORE AWESOMENESS
IN 2015