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Niq Bullock
Niq is a student of Life. Determined to succeed since the very beginning, Niq has become an accomplished poet, writer, and artist of words.
Niq’s earliest education came as Squirt in Daddy’s arms...view moreNiq is a student of Life. Determined to succeed since the very beginning, Niq has become an accomplished poet, writer, and artist of words.
Niq’s earliest education came as Squirt in Daddy’s arms. When Niq was born, Mommie took sick and Daddy was Squirt’s main caregiver, taking care of Mommie, Squirt and Niq's two older sisters.
At four, after hearing a sermon at the church of one of Daddy’s fellow taxicab drivers, Niq proclaimed at Sunday dinner, the desire to ‘accept Christ.’ Niq was instructed to ‘go down front’ the following Sunday once they were back at their home church, Righteous Church of God in Washington, DC. This was the beginning of an arduos spiritual journey, but one made easier by the presence of music and song.
A lover of music at a young age, too early on many a morning, Niq plinked the family piano rocking the bench to reach the pedals. Begging to take lessons, Niq learned the alphabet and was accepted into Oxendine Music Academy in Hyattsville, MD. Here Niq trained as a classical pianist and competed at Peabody Conservatory’s then annual competition. In the last year of competition, at age 12, Niq achieved a green honorable mention ribbon, first place, in Niq’s opinion, for a black student in that time.
The longest attending minority student of Capitol Christian Academy in Upper Marlboro, MD, Niq attended first grade when certain grades had class in the Bethany Lutheran Church across from the Otho Williams car dealer in Suitland, MD. Niq graduated 11 years later, and at age 16 entered Messiah College in Grantham, PA. Changing majors from elementary education, a career anticipated early from teaching and preaching to many dolls in the basement of their DC home, Niq achieved a Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Communication. It was ‘not triumphantly, but somehow,’ as a caring professor encouraged when Daddy died from a two-year bout with cancer the summer of Niq’s sophomore year.
By age 24, Niq had held more than 24 jobs, the result of beginning work early, working several jobs at once, and having an intense passion for learning as much as possible in the shortest time possible. While working at the Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters in Washington, DC, Niq designed a system for tracking the President’s Disaster Assistance Relief Fund and wrote a pamphlet explaining the relief process to disaster victims.
Later at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Niq quickly became resident expert in the Office of Economic Opportunity. Travelling the country training state and federal government employees on the rights and responsibilities of those receiving government funds for community improvements, Niq strategized with city officials, workers, and low-income housing residents to maximize results under government guidelines. Niq wrote revised federal regulations for Section 3, Economic Opportunities for Low Income Persons, and received critical acclaim for conducting numerous trainings including annual training conferences for HUD attorneys and the American Contractor’s Compliance Association.
Eager to use the left and right brain, Niq, then managed a budget of $150M in the Office of Administrative and Management Services at HUD. But as the excitement and thrill reached fever pitch, Niq was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and advised to medicate the condition to prevent ‘accidental suicide’ during anticipated depressive mood swings. It would be almost six years before Niq effectively reversed this decision.
Although suffering from panic since childhood, Niq works daily to enjoy life and assists those who commit to do the same. “Perspective is everything,” says Niq. ” I’m in control of very little. But if I work at it, I can choose to enjoy each moment of my life. Enjoying life is a choice only I can make.”
At time of publication, Niq is no longer on bipolar medication and has had no episodes for more than four months. Asked for the secret, Niq says, “Faith without works is dead."view less