Tanaira (Cullens) Tuffour

High School Graduation Year: 2008
Year First Awarded the Carson Scholarship: 2001
Sponsored by: The Abell Foundation

Tanaira (Cullens) Tuffour was named a Carson Scholar in 2001 when she was in fifth grade. After graduating high school, she attended Morgan State University and earned her bachelor’s degree in biology in 2013. From there she went to John’s Hopkins University and graduated with her master’s degree in environmental science and policy in 2015.

After college, Tanaira became a middle school science teacher. She helped open a school and she went to work for a non-profit organization called Baltimore Ecosystem Study. At the non-profit she helped write a science curriculum for middle and high school students in Baltimore City Public Schools. Tanaira is now working for Biohabitats and is a Senior Environmental Scientist and Internship Program Coordinator.

Tanaira remains dedicated to her community and helping those around her. As a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, she participates in many community service initiatives. Tanaira is the co-chair of a group called Enhance Our Environment, and she participates in a lot of environmental initiatives, including planting trees, recycling, composting, and more with other community members. She is also on the board of the organization called Friend of the Jones Falls, where she helps make sure that the Jones Falls watershed is clean, healthy and safe by doing stream clean ups and other projects. Tanaria is also on the alumni board of her alma mater, Roland Park Country School. She was a student there from eighth to twelfth grade, and she now helps with alumni engagement and helps seniors transition to life after high school. She also helps lead the youth and young adult ministry at her church, First Mt. Olive Baptist Church, where she is an integral part of the outreach ministry.

Tanaira exemplifies all the aspects of a Carson scholar by keeping education and community service as very important parts of her life. When we asked her how CSF inspired her, she said, “When I was a kid I was really inspired by Dr. Ben Carson’s book, Gifted Hands. I read that the year before I became a Carson Scholar, and I thought his story was really inspiring, just in general like how he was able to come from a similar background to myself and then become successful. And I said, you know, it would be really cool if I could do something similar, not become a doctor because that’s not what I wanted to do, but I always wanted to be a scientist, that’s something that I always wanted to do. So, when my school said I had the opportunity to apply for the Carson Scholarship I was like, oh yeah, I just read that book, so I was really excited!”

Tanaira’s favorite song is “I Am the Best” by 2NE1, she listened to it in high school and it has helped her through tough times, and she describes it as a women’s empowerment song. She also likes to read and has had many favorite books, but her favorite at the moment is Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi. Tanaira also enjoys the K-drama series “Boys Over Flowers.” She always roots for her home teams, the Ravens and the Orioles.

We asked Tanaira what advice she has for our current scholars and she said, “I’ll give some unconventional advice. I think a lot of times when you’re a really good kid who’s really successful and doing really well in school everyone is always kind of putting pressure on you to always be kind of perfect. And so, one thing I’ll say is that it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to get things wrong because that’s how you learn and grow. I don’t think there’s any successful people who became successful by being perfect because there are no perfect people.”