This week on the coffee break, Eagles Talent had the pleasure of speaking with royalty. Sarah Culberson, Princess of Sierra Leone, sat down with Sheldon to talk about her discovering her royal status and how that has helped her to change lives for the better.
Sarah was adopted by a white couple in West Virginia and didn’t think much about her lineage until she was older. She knew discovering her biological family was always a possibility, but she always thought of it as something she would do late on in life. Following graduate school, Sarah moved to LA where she became involved in the acting world. Not long after she started working as an educator where she would help students connect locally and globally. Working with the students made her want to learn more about her biological roots. She reached out to her uncle in Sierra Leone (after thinking he was her birth father) and he told her all about their lineage and how she was considered a princess in their country.
Sarah explains that before becoming a princess, she was just floating through life, enjoying herself. Upon learning about her status, she began to think of the world in a different way. She felt it was her responsibility to do something and help the people of her country. Her perspective and thought process began to change. When asked about how she felt upon first learning about her new role, she responded that she embraced it, she was always a natural born leader growing up. Sarah states that she had and continues to have a lot of guidance and tells viewers that even as a leader, you do not have to know everything. Listen to the people you lead, find out what their needs are, allow other people to share their thoughts. Discussion and collaboration often produces the best results.
After visiting the country for the first time, Sarah admits that she felt a lot of guilt. It was two years after an 11-year civil war that they were still recovering from. When she returned back to the states, Sarah quickly learned that she had to let go of her guilt. It did nothing to help, but she could help in other ways. She worked with many different people to create a plan of action and together they created Sierra Leone Rising, a nonprofit organization that focuses on education, public health, and female empowerment in Sierra Leone. Sarach explains that through listening, connecting, and asking questions, she is able to give back to Sierra Leone and help as much as she can.
Sarah’s story can be an inspiration to any group. She focuses on empowerment and diversity and inclusion and uses her very unique story to help connect to other leaders. Interested in hearing more about Princess Sarah? Book her today for an in-person or virtual keynote and be ready to be inspired.
