Faces Of NPR showcases the people behind NPR--from the voices you hear every day on the radio to the ones who work outside of the recording studio. You'll find out about what they do and what they're inspired by on the daily. This month is special, we are featuring HBCU alum at NPR for Black History Month starting with Anaïs Laurent, Senior Marketing Manager.

The Basics:

Name: Anaïs Laurent

Instagram Handle: @Anais_Laurent

Job Title: Senior Marketing Manager

You know, I've got to plug Howard in here. How did going to Howard/an HBCU prepare you for the real world and for NPR?

It's important to know who you are in order to know where you're going. I try to tap into my ancestors to guide, inspire and motivate me, especially when I'm feeling down. At Howard, there is a hustle mentality coupled with Black excellence and Black diversity. Students come from all over the United States and the world, a total immersion in the concept of global citizenship. I think experience has been so important to my work at NPR, because it helped me truly understand what diversity looks and feels like in this country and the world. It helped me navigate my identity as a first-generation person of color. So owning my identity and my cultural values informs everything I do. Howard instills this excellence in you, this sense of pride and honor, so that when you do walk into a room and you are the only person of color, yeah, it may be tough sometimes to represent, but it makes you remember like, "Yo, your