In this joyous essay collection edited by NPR's Ayesha Rascoe, celebrities and other alumni provide testimonials about their experience attending historically Black college universities–which shaped their lives and made them who they are today.

With a diverse set of contributors, including Oprah Winfrey, Stacey Abrams, and Branford Marsalis, HBCU Made celebrates the experience of going to a historically Black college or university. In moving essays, a wide range of alums share their accounts of how they chose their HBCU, their first days on campus, the dynamic atmosphere, and how they were shaped by their rigorous training. 

A collection that brims with insight and school spirit, HBCU Made is a perfect gift for each generation of prospective students and graduates to come. 

Ayesha Rascoe is the host of Weekend Edition Sunday and the Saturday episodes of Up First.

Prior to her role as host, Rascoe was a White House Correspondent. She covered three presidential administrations. As a part of the White House team, she was also a regular on the NPR Politics Podcast.

Before joining NPR, Rascoe spent the first decade of her career at Reuters, rising from a news assistant to an energy reporter to eventually covering the White House. While at Reuters, Rascoe covered some of the biggest energy and environmental stories of the past decade, including the 2010 BP oil spill.

She’s a proud graduate of Howard University.