Huda Hassan has a goal, she wants more black women in Academia, more in the ivory tower, she wants to change the balance of power!

So, the University of Toronto PhD student started offering free help to black women who were applying to graduate school and the response was overwhelming!

On Jan 4th she put her offer out on Twitter, with more than 2,500 shares and over 80 formal requests she is amazed and humbled with the response, four other academics, all female, two black, have stepped up to help with the cause!

if you're a black woman applying for grad school & would like a writer+phd student to revise your statement, email me: [email protected]

— Huda Hassan (@_hudahassan) January 5, 2017

Hassan told Metro:

“There’s an issue of diversity in academia and there’s definitely an issue of seeing black folk in academia,”

“I don’t think that’s a commentary on black folks. That’s a commentary on the academy.”

Minority teachers are hugely underrepresented according to various studies, despite 24% of visible minorities owning a PhD. A 2012 study by the Canadian Ethnic Studies Association said that 14 out of 17 major universities were underrepresented.

Hasan was helped on her journey by other black women and is now paying it forward!

“There’s not a lot of folks in our families who might have the answers that we need,”

“All the black women have been so grateful and so appreciative,”

“A lot of them have been trying to pay me even though I’m emphasizing it’s free.”

A bigger version of the assistance project is expected to be rolled out next fall due to it’s popularity.

Amazing woman!