Nabil Ayers, a 1993 graduate from the University of Puget Sound (Washington Gamma), recently published his memoir titled “My Life in the Sunshine,” which describes his journey searching for his father and discovering his family along the way. He struggled to navigate his life with an African-American dad and a Jewish white mom. This brought forward a lot of questions that he had and dealt with in his own way.
His mother liked the idea of being a young, single mom, and at age 21, she asked her “boyfriend” (Nabil’s father) if he would have a child with her. He agreed to follow through as long as he didn’t have to be a part of the child’s life. Nabil mentions he had incredible male figures and a great mom to look up to while growing up but found himself curious about the feelings he associated with his father. Writing this book was a research project of his, where he could dive deeper into the side of the family he grew up without.
When it came time to attend college, Nabil was nervous that he would be asked questions about his family and background that even he couldn’t answer. He didn’t want these circumstances to affect his college experience. He immediately put himself out there by living on campus his freshman year and became immersed in college life. He quickly found interest in the college radio station, the marching band, and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. He found that talking to the SAE brothers during recruitment made him feel nothing but comfortable and accepted right off the bat.
“Every conversation I had with an SAE felt so natural, and I was excited to meet everyone,” Nabil says. “No one asked me about my background, they accepted me for who I am, and I developed many strong friendships because of this.”
Nabil succeeded just fine without a father figure; he had various SAE brothers to look after him and make incredible memories with. He became involved in SAE, taking positions as the Social Chairman and Eminent Archon, which he found enjoyable.
You can view his PR kit here if you’d like to learn more about Nabil and his story. Seeing an SAE chasing his dreams and becoming a successful figure is an inspiration to the realm. Phi Alpha Nabil!
