Olney’s Tamara Ellerbe graduated last week from Manor College with a bachelor’s degree in Health Services.
Ellerbe was an active student, leading tours during open houses, telling new Blue Jays about what life is really like on Manor’s campus.
Ellerbe’s extroversion is ingrained in the fabric of her identity, as her father, William Perry, was the same way.
When Ellerbe and her cousins were young, Perry took them on trips to the arcade or Chuck E. Cheese. There was the trip to Disney World when Ellerbe was 2.
Perry would sit on his front porch in Germantown and watch the kids play in the yard until 10 p.m.
Ellerbe’s favorite memories are when no one was around. Perry would throw a vinyl record on the player – usually The Temptations, The Whisperers or The Stylistics – and he’d dance with her. He’d pick her up and sing Isn’t She Lovely by Stevie Wonder. To this day, the song still makes her cry.
In July 2012, when Ellerbe was only 12, Perry was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. He went through dialysis and got a liver transplant. Unfortunately, he died two years later.
After his death, the community rallied around Ellerbe.
“My dad was so well known that everyone in the neighborhood would check in on me,” Ellerbe said. “They made sure I had everything I needed for school. They were always my guardians.”
If Ellerbe’s personality came from her father, she got her drive from her mother. Tonya works for a cleaning service in the Philadelphia area. It was Tonya who made sure Ellerbe believed in an education.
“She went to a trade school and always said she wanted better for me,” Ellerbe said. “She reached out to my counselors and asked them to help me through the college process because she always believed in having an education.”
While at Murrell Dobbins CTE Technical High School, a college counselor talked to Ellerbe about Manor College. At the time, Ellerbe’s friends were looking at larger colleges, but the counselor believed she needed to be in a smaller environment.
The high school took a tour of Manor College, where Ellerbe met Jessica Zsoldos, the current Director of Admissions.
“The way she talked about Manor, it sounds so cliche, but it made me feel like I belonged here,” Ellerbe said. “I did another tour a year later and I was hooked.”
Now, giving tours of her own to potential students, Ellerbe reflects on her own experience.
“There’s a saying you hear that in college, professors aren’t going to hold your hand, and that’s true,” Ellerbe said. “At Manor, they’re not going to hold your hand, but you know they want to help you succeed and will do everything to make that happen.”
During her time at Manor, Ellerbe became a Presidential Ambassador and a member of Rotaract and Student Senate. In January 2024, she became the first woman of color to receive the Mother Josaphat Medal, the institution’s highest honor. She additionally received the Kyle McIntosh Memorial Award in April, given to a student who embodies the spirit, energy, kindness and love of Manor.
Ellerbe’s favorite memory is the most recent Grad and Family Picnic. She loved watching faculty and students interact outside of the classroom – playing volleyball, having cookout food and dancing. Those heartwarming moments are the ones Ellerbe will miss most.
“I met so many people I never thought I would have met,” Ellerbe said. “I just fell in love with this place. I made a family here.” ••
