Deonta "Deo" Bebber
Quick Facts
Age: 31
Major: Design, 2024
Notable: First-generation
Transfer Institution: Seattle Central College, Associate of Arts
“To be an Alfie means that I present myself in an authentic manner that allows other people to feel a sense of belonging. I strive to help those around me believe that anything is possible if they try their best, no matter what traumas they may have experienced. ”
Service & Work:
Peer Tutor, various subjects, Seattle Central College, 2020–2022
Optician’s Apprentice, Market Optical, 2014–2019
Awards & Honors:
Alfie Scholars, Cohort 7, 2022–2024
President’s List, Seattle Central College, 2021–2022
Dean’s List, Seattle Central College, April–December 2020
Achievement Scholarship
Redhawk Grant Transfer
Deo’s Story
Born to 16-year-old parents in Duluth, Minnesota, my early childhood was a mix of uncertainty and love, struggle, and kindness. My father, a gang member of Southeast Asian and Native American descent, was in and out of jail for years. My mom did her best and with help from my grandparents, she made sure that my sister Kayla and I had what we needed. I attended a magnet school in Minnesota where I learned some Ojibwe, a little Spanish, and excelled in track. Yet I also struggled to fit in, to pay attention in class, and to make friends.
My single mother, sister, and I moved to Washington when I was 11. Over the next few years, I realized that I was gay. It wasn’t until freshmen orientation that I came out. A few years later at 16 I was infected with HIV by my first boyfriend. Out of shame and in an effort to hide my diagnosis from my family, I dropped out in the 11th grade. I earned my GED and started working multiple jobs to survive and in the hopes of starting a career. At the time, I didn’t think that college was available to me due to my low income and my busy work schedule. Now I am finally capable financially to go to school and am working on getting my BA in Design and a BFA in Fine Arts these next two years.
Advice:
Advice that I would give to someone wanting to go to a university that is coming from high school or a community college is to make sure that they have a good support group that’ll be there for overwhelming times and self-doubt. I also suggest knowing how you personally learn best and then gather as many techniques as you can to help you manage your time and energy most efficiently. For example, I can only manage one large project at a time that involves critical thinking and analytical skills. The use of a weekly planner lets me spread out the work-load so that I still have free time to rest between projects.
Goals:
As a person who grew up with a single teen parent, lived through waves of poverty, and is a gay man with HIV, I have learned from my lived experiences to see the humanity in all types of people. I strive to be a positive, expressive, and authentic role model for the next generation to come after me and the people that surround me day to day. My goals for right now are to complete two majors in Design and Fine Arts so that I can have a better foundation for helping people feel better about themselves. I’ve worked as a stylist and a performer for years, and one of my favorite things to do is lift people up and teach them how to love themselves more. I feel that completing my degree will not only give me the skills and techniques needed to help people, but it will also help me personally with my self-confidence. I will be the first person in my family to complete any higher education, and that alone is something I find pride in. I don’t yet see the big picture after college clearly, but I am looking forward to having more financial security in my life. Once I find employment doing design and fine arts, I hope to be able to make a living so that I can contribute more to the LBGTQ+ communities as well as participate more with HIV advocacy groups.
On Civility:
Civility to me is communicating with others in an authentic and empathetic manner so that everyone feels like they belong. Authenticity in our communication with others shares our true feelings and intentions. Empathy draws on our lived experiences so that we can listen to others who come from a different point of view. To do this with civility, we must take the time to understand the other person, know what is important to them, and respond to them instead of reacting defensively. To lead with civility is to be self-aware so that we understand how our presence can and will impact others.
