Ayanna Martin ’15 On Taking Your Time – And Why It Matters

On Friday, November 7, Ayanna Martin ’15 came back to campus to share her wisdom with current St. Mary’s students.

As a proud Memphian and St. Mary’s girl, Ayanna embodies the “grit and grind” mentality that St. Mary’s students embrace when pursuing their passions. As a member of the National Honor Society, Beta Club, and Mock Trial team at SMS, Ayanna has grown into a multifaceted, compassionate professional with a career spanning law, real estate, and nonprofit entrepreneurship. 

Currently pursuing her Juris Doctor at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., Ayanna is following her childhood dream of becoming a lawyer. This chapter of Ayanna’s journey began later than she expected, but it taught her about divine timing, presence, and compassion – all meaningful lessons she shared with us.

Graduating early from Vanderbilt University and becoming a homeowner at 22, Ayanna has always taken pride in setting her own pace when achieving her goals. 

“As a high school student, I liked efficiency and excellence, all preferably ahead of schedule,” Ayanna recalled. “But now, I’m here to sing a new tune: good things take time, so grow deep roots.”

After earning her bachelor's degree in International Leadership from Vanderbilt, Ayanna accepted a fellowship with a national civil rights litigation firm, where she challenged megacorporations to address Title VII violations.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ayanna’s two-year fellowship was unexpectedly extended to four years, providing her with invaluable experiences that prepared her for her next steps. 
 
“It was in that season, I began to grow deep roots,” Ayanna said. “It was necessary for me to start viewing time as an ally, not an enemy.” 

The time Ayanna spent in this unexpected career taught her compassion, preparedness, advocacy, and attention to detail. For Ayanna, these traits are more than soft skills. 

“I ended up in rooms I never would have chosen, but instead chose me,” Ayanna reflected. “In those spaces, I learned the power of presence, the quiet skill of showing up prepared, and the sacred responsibility of using your voice to advocate when it counts… These are what they call soft skills, but more than that, they are root deep lessons, the kind that shape who you are, not just what you do.”

As a law student, Ayanna is putting these principles into practice, serving as a staff editor for the Howard Law Journal and working as a student attorney for the Fair Housing Clinic, where she represents clients in defending against housing discrimination. 

For Ayanna, becoming a lawyer is only the beginning of a career in compassion. Her clothing line, Worthee Apparel, partners with a Memphis-based scholarship fund, and upon graduation from Howard, Ayanna will work at one of the top global law firms. With the world at her feet, Ayanna left our students with one powerful reminder: trust the timing of your journey, not the speed of your steps.

“Reflecting on how deep my roots have grown, I notice it wasn’t just about what I was accomplishing. It was about how I was showing up and who I was becoming in the process,” Ayanna shared. “None of that came from hustling harder; it came from surrendering to timing. To realize that divine timing is always better than personal momentum. That’s why delay is often preparation in disguise. If you let it, time will not just take you places; it will transform you along the way.” 

Ayanna was introduced on Friday by close friend and fellow St. Mary’s alumna, Sabrina Spence ’18. You can view Ayanna’s Chapel talk, as well as Sabrina’s introduction, via the link below. 

Ayanna Martin ’15 Chapel