Back in October, on our @HillmanShirts Instagram page, we held a social media election to democratically select our first ever Miss Hillman Homecoming. The finalists were six spectacular women, who all have really dope and intriguing Instagram pages (you should follow them: @thestylemedic, @gerwaynah, @waitersservesstyle, @_Shaybarnes, @dlang33 & @mustlovejane). The rules were simple. Whichever contestant’s Instagram handle had the greatest number of tags by the end of voting would be crowned our first annual Miss Hillman Homecoming 2018. After a spirited four days of campaigning, the outcome favored @MustLoveJane, otherwise, known in the real world as Dr. Janelle Hadley MD. Dr. Hadley is a renaissance woman. She simply exemplifies all of the trendy hashtag sayings that are linked to greatness of black women. Whether it’s “Black Girl Magic”, “Black Girls Rock”, “Dope Black Girls”, “Black Girls Do It” etc., the dynamic life of Dr. Hadley is worthy of them all. A native of Chicago and a graduate of Howard University, Dr. Hadley is a family medicine physician, professional baker & avid sneaker collector. One of her ambitions in medicine is to design and integrate a preventative care approach, based on socioeconomic factors to underserved communities. Her passion in baking developed while working towards her MD at Trinity School of Medicine on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “I was far away and I wanted the taste of home and I also needed to break up the monotony of med school. So, I would call my mother to ask her for recipes. Eventually, people would ask me to bake things for them. Next thing you know, I pretty much had a business” said Dr. Hadley. She still even has that business today (Instagram: @caked.and.baked), serving the same purpose of providing a necessary
balance to her life.
We asked Dr. Hadley some rapid fire questions about her HBCU experience at Howard. Here is what she had to say:
1.) College & Class?
a. Howard University College of Arts & Sciences c/o 2007
2.) Favorite songs in college (1 for the yard and 1 for the club)
a. Yard Song: The entire “College Dropout” album by Kanye West
b. Club Song: “Knuck if You Buck” by Crime Mob
3.) What is your favorite college memory?
a. Chilling and laughing in Truth Hall in the Harriet Tubman Quadrangle, homecomings & probates.
4.) What is the most valuable lesson undergrad taught you?
a. Black people are not a monolith.
5.) If you could go back in time, would you choose an HBCU?
a. Unequivocally yes! My HBCU exposed me to black excellence since day one. I learned to love and appreciate the diaspora that much more.
Dr. Janelle Hadley can be reached via her Instagram pages: @MustLoveJane, @Caked.And.Baked & @PagingDrHadley