Theresa Sanders, the president and CEO of the Urban League of Long Island, spoke with News 12 about her trailblazing success in recognition of Black History Month.

As a youth in the East Meadow School District, she recalled being “the only Black person” in her class. She is still putting into practice the lessons her parents taught her growing up at Mitchel Field.

"Even if you feel alone and by yourself, you have to have confidence in your skills,” she said. “If you write well, if it's art class, if it's gym class – you go in and you do that. You can't concentrate on how other people perceive you."

Sanders has worked for the Urban League of Long Island for almost 30 years. The organization works to ensure people in Nassau and Suffolk have equal opportunity to academic enrichment programs and workforce development training, especially youth education and training.

"I love being a part of something that's not just local in my community or my region, but it is really a national movement,” she said.

Sanders is also on the Board of Trustees at Suffolk Community College. She made history in 2016 when she was elected as board chair – the first Black person to hold that post.

"I recognize how important that is, and I've learned from what my parents have taught me," she said.

Sanders, whose father was an NYPD officer, says her parents taught her to take pride in her diversity, interests and supported her dreams and goals. She’s instilled that in her own children and is sharing it with the next generation of Long Islanders.

“I would encourage people to seek a multitude of things to explore,” she said. “You just don't know what's going to strike that little spark and give you the encouragement to want to do something in life that's a little bit different. It's made me brave."