By Emily Fadako; Edited by George Wade
Anayah Frazier, more commonly known as Nayah, is a media and communications student at Arcadia University. On a sunny Monday afternoon in early April, while waiting for the solar eclipse to occur, Nayah and I stood on the Green, aka the large plain of grass in the middle of Arcadia’s campus, and she told me all about herself.
Nayah and I have been friends since the 2023 fall semester, but what drew me to concentrate on her for a profile story, rather than anyone else, was my admiration for her as a person. There is a certain way that she presents herself. Despite dealing with anxiety and the fear of what others may think, Nayah radiates a “cool vibe.”
Imagine that one classmate who sits across from you in the most boring class. With a teacher babbling on about nothing, it is fairly easy to get distracted. You begin to ponder about that classmate. Almost everyday her hair is different. On Monday, she has these sleek, blonde twists that travel down to her lower back. On Wednesday, her hair is black and curly. Then on Friday, it is so short that you begin to wonder how she is able to pull off all these hairstyles. Not to mention the makeup you see her wear each day. It’s never too much, but it’s not too simple. It perfectly makes her seem like she woke up hours beforehand to do it, even though it may have taken less than half an hour. That classmate is Nayah.
Nayah always presents herself in a way that is not seen too often nowadays in a college environment. She rarely ever shows up wearing a classic sweatpants and hoodie combo. Picking out a cute outfit, doing her makeup, and styling a wig is how Nayah expresses herself. That is not the only factor in what makes her a person though.
While we were standing around in the middle of campus waiting for the solar eclipse to happen, I asked Nayah about whether she views Arcadia University as a welcoming environment or not.
“I’m a queer black woman, it’s not like I’m gonna shout it when I walk around, but if someone asks me about it, it’s not like I’m gonna lie,” she told me while staring at the other students on the Green.
Arcadia, according to Nayah, has a healthier environment compared to other schools. It helps that this is a liberal arts school, so it has a bigger diversity pool. As we have seen in history, we know it’s not easy being a woman. Let alone a black woman. Adding onto that, we know that being a black woman who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community does not bring a simple life due to stereotypes and mean-spirited people. However, Nayah has not directly faced any hardships on Arcadia’s campus. Students, professors, and staff at the school overlook those aspects and see Nayah as a human being, instead of only seeing a specific race or gender.
Even though the campus Nayah knows is welcoming to her, she has some previous experience with Arcadia’s student body being unsympathetic and aloof. Having gone to a concert last semester, she lost her voice from the constant cheering and singing. It was in this no-voice week that she was sitting in the Chat, an area on campus with a mall food court feel, where she overheard a group of students engaging in a morally wrong conversation. During that week, the school was called out for its actions when previous sexual assault allegations came about. Most of the student body was angry, or that’s what Nayah thought.
“I was in the Chat when I heard these girls saying that the student who came forward about that professor was lying. They were basically saying she was just doing it for attention. I wanted to take a picture of them to report them for the gross stuff that they were saying. Cause they started going up the stairs talking about how it’s always the victim’s fault that they get raped or assaulted. That was the pinpoint of my experience where I learned that this campus is not friendly.”
It is within this experience that Nayah felt she had to limit herself on campus. If she is eating in the Chat, she specifically sits at a table where she can face a wall and not have anyone staring at her. If she is walking around campus, she puts headphones on in order to radiate that “cool vibe” to ensure that no one will approach her with negativity. So, deep down, Nayah can be anxious on campus due to the fear of what others think, even if it’s not visible as she does not wear anxiety on her face.
She tries her best to ignore that fear though, and is willing to talk about her interests. As the sky got dimmer, I asked Nayah about her favorite TV shows or films, and I learned that she really enjoys watching anime, which influenced her decision to learn Japanese.
French, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish are all languages offered at Arcadia. It is even a requirement for students to pass a 102-level language class. Most take up Spanish, so I was surprised when I heard the language she was learning.
In high school, Nayah went through four years of practicing Chinese because she liked opening up her dialect to more than just English (in a Philadelphia accent). She even tried to teach herself Korean, but has not made too much progress since.
“I have a minor in Japanese. I got tired of listening to dub versions of anime, but I hated having to pause the TV every time I had to walk away.”
Nayah is also studying abroad in Japan in the fall semester of 2025. This is an event that she is looking forward to, though she is sad that she won’t be able to see her family and friends for months. Despite the sadness, she is very happy that she chose to attend Arcadia due to its study abroad program.
One of only two college choices, she decided to enroll in the school because along with the study abroad opportunity, Nayah liked the Greys Tower Castle located at the top of campus. Since attending university in August of 2020, Nayah did not officially declare her major as media and communications until after she took a class taught by media professor Dr. Michael Dwyer. However, she has always been interested in the field. When she was younger, Nayah liked the idea of journalism, especially so because it meant she would be able to speak about important things, along with things she is passionate about.
“I picked [media and communications] as my major because it allows me to articulate my thoughts and opinions in a way that is academically acceptable without watering down my true feelings. I don’t want to hide my opinions from the world” she told me while looking at the sun through her phone’s camera.
Nayah also told me that in her first year in college, she was a psychology major, and even told me how she is unsure as to why she made that decision when she grew up liking the idea of cinematography as a career. So, after switching to media and communications and learning the ins and outs of Murphy Hall, the building which hosts various art majors, Nayah also chose to concentrate on screen media. Within the department of media and communication at Arcadia University, there are four possible concentrations students are able to choose from. They are as follows: Multimedia Publishing, Public Relations, Individualized Study, and of course, Screen Media.
Screen media dives into the field of videography and film. Later on in life, Nayah wants to get into a cinematography career that she dreamed of as a child. She mentioned how she likes watching nature documentaries, but would probably end up being in the film and television subsection of the field.
The department at Arcadia allows Nayah to explore many aspects of her dream career that she didn’t know before. She feels as though the school is helping her become the best version of herself that she can be, especially within her profession.
With a date set to walk across the stage to receive her diploma in May 2026, Nayah is ready to continue to express herself in the cinematography world. In the meantime, excited that she witnessed the solar eclipse, and optimistic about the future and her life at Arcadia, Nayah can’t wait to learn more and continue traveling down the path to officially begin her career.
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