Meet Kenya

The voice of Ebony Einstein

 

Passion. Confidence. Leadership. These words come to mind when discussing Kenya Yvonne Cummins. Born one shining summer morning in Baltimore, Maryland on July 21, 1998, her parents, Ronald and Leslie Cummins, dreamed of what their daughter would come to accomplish. From a young age, Kenya’s family decided that she and her sisters would be raised on a foundation of faith, providing them with private Christian schooling and a church that functioned as a second family and support system which has contributed to the young lady she is today.

 

Ms. Cummins worked as a tutor at Kumon Math and Reading Center, and as a kitchen staffer/ assistant counselor at Mt. Aetna Summer Camp. Beyond these work experiences, Kenya has been intentional about serving her community. Elected Miss Freshman 2016-2016 at Hampton University, she had the privilege of planning, organizing and implementing multiple service events. Her most notable event included the gathering of about 70 freshman students to assemble 100 brown bag lunches that were distributed via the VA Peninsula Foodbank’s Senior Mobile Foodbank. This past summer, Kenya volunteered with the Y and The Leukemia & Llymphoma Society.

 

Kenya has long pursued her passion for writing and film. In 2012, her original poem “To Love is to Catch a Glimpse of Heaven” was published by the America Library of Poetry. Her first time on a film set was the summer of 2016, when she was accepted to the Nate Parker Summer Film Institute, where she pursued her passions for screenwriting and filmmaking. This past summer, Kenya had the opportunity to return to NPSFI as a mentor/ volunteer.

 

A Strategic Communications Major, Cinema Studies Minor, Kenya aspires to work for Walt Disney Studios as well as open her own film production studio, Lit By Lightning Productions, where she plans to illuminate stories of black empowerment and minority struggles. Kenya is inspired by the careers of Ava DuVernay and John Lasseter.

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