Lincoln University’s Family-Oriented Atmosphere Is Hollywood Exec Reesha L. Archibald’s Secret To Success
Written By: Dani Canada There’s something special about the ways HBCUs prepare you to bloom, and no one knows that better than Reesha L

Written By: Dani Canada
There’s something special about the ways HBCUs prepare you to bloom, and no one knows that better than Reesha L. Archibald, a rose rising to the occasion in Hollywood. After matriculating through high school in St. Louis, the bubbly midwesterner was drawn to Missouri’s Lincoln University. Located just over an hour away from her family, the proximity gave her a sense of independence while keeping her close to her tribe. Her Lincoln HBCU experience would prove to be life-changing and something she believes was destined as it gave her a second family including “Lincoln parents” who’ve become beautiful bonuses to her life.
“It nurtured me in a way that reminded me that I’m capable of doing whatever I set my mind to,” said the alumna who majored in business administration before obtaining her MBA in management. “Once you graduate, you face so many different things, and if you don’t have a strong understanding of who you are as a person and your intellectual prowess, you’ll get eaten alive. I think the experiences I gained at Lincoln helped build me up in a way that I’m like, ‘You know what? The things that I deal with over here have nothing on what I’ve been through and survived with them.’”

Now a proud grad and advocate of her HBCU, Archibald continues to thrive professionally, serving as a creative executive at Cedric The Entertainer and Eric Rhone’s A Bird & A Bear Entertainment all the while collaborating with industry leaders like Cheo Hodari Coker, creator of “Luke Cage.”
She attributes her success to the expertise she acquired at Lincoln including resilience, effective communication, and project management skills some of which she gained alongside her line sisters of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
“For those of us who pledged in undergrad, we know that you’re running a business,” the exec who was the President of her undergrad chapter told OffTheYard. “We were college kids running a business and keeping it afloat and doing HR when you’re doing intake. Lincoln really helped me with my business skills and my project management skills and I was able to use that experience in interviews, which landed me jobs.”

She also beams with pride while reflecting on the vast accomplishments of fellow thriving alumni whom she can call on at the drop of a dime.
“Lincoln alums have done some phenomenal things,” said Archibald. “There are several Lincoln grads who are out here killing the game when it comes to the corporate world and government. Everyone I grew up with at Lincoln is doing really dope things in not only their personal lives, but professionally as well.”
Ultimately, the Lincoln alumna hopes that attendees of not just her beloved institution but other HBCUs see the schools’ worth amidst false narratives that Historically Black Colleges and Universities are obsolete.
“That is one of the biggest lies I’ve ever heard, they’re absolutely needed,” said the exec. “It’s just a family within the family “I’m so blessed that I went to an HBCU and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I want to be where I’m wanted, where I’m welcomed, where I’m loved. I’m eternally grateful for all of it, for every experience I had at Lincoln, because it literally made me who I am today.”