Celebrating the Parents Behind the Journey
HBCU Empty Nesters was created to recognize, encourage, and support the parents, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers whose love and sacrifices help students reach college.
Sending a child to college—especially an Historically Black College or University—is a proud and emotional milestone. Families spend years providing guidance, encouragement, prayer, financial support, transportation, and countless other sacrifices. Yet after move-in day, parents often return home wondering, “What happens next for me?”
HBCU Empty Nesters is here to help answer that question.
What we do:
HBCU Empty Nesters is developing a supportive lifestyle and resource platform for the HBCU parent community. Through helpful content, meaningful products, educational resources, special events, and encouraging conversations, we help families prepare for college, navigate the college years, and confidently embrace life after move-in day.
Our platform is designed to provide:
College preparation and move-in resources
Encouragement for new and experienced empty nesters
HBCU parent apparel and lifestyle products
Parent journals, checklists, guides, and digital resources
Stories celebrating the sacrifices and accomplishments of families
Information about orientation, homecoming, graduation, and campus life
Opportunities for parents to connect, learn, and feel supported
Our Founder’s Story
HBCU Empty Nesters was founded by Michelle “Shell,” a Charlotte, North Carolina mother and business owner inspired by her own experience as an HBCU parent.
After helping her daughter move into college, Michelle began the three-and-a-half-hour drive back home. During that drive, she realized that her role as a mother was changing. She was no longer responsible for her daughter’s daily routine, but she was still a loving, supportive, and available parent.
That emotional transition gave Michelle the idea to create a community specifically for parents entering this new chapter of life. She wanted parents to know that although their children were beginning a new journey, the parents’ journey was not over.
It was simply becoming something new.
Who We Serve
Parents preparing to send a child to college
First-time HBCU parents
Experienced college parents
Parents adjusting to an empty home
Grandparents, guardians, and caregivers
Families celebrating orientation, homecoming, and graduation
Parents rediscovering their own goals and purpose
Whether your student is preparing for move-in day, completing their final semester, or beginning life after graduation, you belong here.