Written by Jayona Monique Dorsey
Writer, Creative Strategist, and Cultural Storyteller.
Hampton University, Class of 2027
Strategic Communications major, concentrating in Public Relations with a minor in Marketing.

At an HBCU, the microphone is never just a microphone.

It’s the voice that gets the crowd ready before the DJ drops the first song. It’s the person who knows when to turn the energy up, when to let a moment breathe and when to say exactly what everybody in the room is thinking. It’s the voice that can make a campus event feel like a memory people will talk about long after it ends.

For Praise Gibson, that voice has become part of who he is.

A sophomore at North Carolina A&T State University studying Business Information Technology, Gibson is building his name as an HBCU host and entertainer. But behind the confidence and energy is someone focused on serving his community and creating a lasting impact.

“I’ve been saying this since I was in high school,” Gibson says. “Like, hey, I’m gonna be the future number one HBCU host.”

For Gibson, that goal is not just about recognition. It is about connecting with people, understanding the culture and representing HBCUs well.

“I really want to be on the entertainer side,” he says. “I just want to be known as somebody who can walk into an environment and make it better.”

Hosting has given Gibson a way to turn his natural personality into something meaningful. He enjoys making people laugh, creating moments and bringing energy to a room. But he also understands that a great host must know when not to speak.

“A great HBCU host can really control the energy of a room,” he says. “You understand the culture, you know how to read the crowd.”

That means knowing the difference between a pep rally, a step show, a party and a moment that should be allowed to speak for itself. At an HBCU, audiences are honest, and Gibson knows the best hosts are not always the loudest.

His understanding of presentation also shapes how he thinks about fashion. To Gibson, the first day of school is an opportunity to make a statement before saying a word.

“First day is really a chance to show people who you are,” he says. “You don’t have to follow no trends,” he says. “Add your own personality and spice to it.”

For Gibson, style is about intention. Clothing can communicate confidence, creativity and individuality. Just as a host sets the tone for a room, a person’s outfit can set the tone for how they want to move through campus.

That same focus on individuality connects to Gibson’s understanding of legacy. He does not define legacy by popularity alone. He sees it as the impact a person leaves behind.

“When I hear the word legacy, I think it’s what people remember you by,” he says. “After you’re no longer here in the room, that’s what legacy is.”

Through hosting, service with Aggies and ABC and his leadership as Mr. Freshman, Gibson has seen how small moments can make a lasting difference. He wants to help students who may be unsure of where they fit or what steps to take next.

“I just want to create a good experience for certain people when it comes to college,” he says. “If I can help leave something behind for people who come in not knowing what to do, not knowing where the next step is, that’s just something I want to help leave behind.”

His ambitions extend beyond A&T. Gibson hopes to grow from HBCU events into concerts, major shows and larger platforms while continuing to represent the culture that shaped him.

“The world needs to see that,” he says. “Because we are some of the most creative people ever.”

Ultimately, Gibson wants his success to inspire others to pursue their own dreams.

“I really just hope they say Praise made an impact,” he says. “He brought energy, created opportunities, gave people a voice, and genuinely cared about his people.”

He also wants people to recognize his work as distinctly his own. “I want people to be able to look at something I created or an event I helped with and say, hey, Praise did that.”

But the most important part of his legacy may be the people who feel encouraged to step forward because they watched him do it first.

“More than anything, I just want people to feel inspired,” Gibson says. “I want to inspire the youth. I want to inspire people behind me to be like, hey, I got this dream. I want to chase it.”

That is what makes Gibson’s story personal. He is not only building a career behind the mic. He is building proof that personality can become purpose, that HBCU culture can create global opportunities and that energy can be a form of service.

The first day of school, like the first time someone steps behind a microphone, is a chance to set the tone. Gibson understands that both moments require confidence, individuality and the willingness to be seen.

But his legacy will not be measured only by how many rooms he commands or how many people know his name. It will be measured by what remains when the music stops and the crowd goes home.

“I want to build a legacy of being somebody who is present,” he says. “Somebody who didn’t just come to college for himself, but actually poured into the people around him through hosting, service, with leadership.”

Maybe that is the legacy Gibson is building now: not simply being remembered as the person behind the microphone, but as the person who used it to make room for others.

Because when the lights go down and his time at A&T becomes a memory, Gibson does not want people to remember only the energy he brought into the room.

He wants them to remember what that energy made them believe they could become.