In xoNecole's Our First Year series, we take an in-depth look at love and relationships between married couples with an emphasis on what their first year of marriage was like.
For Carjie and Kerwin Scott, "Make Me Better" by Fabolous comes to mind. We all know those lyrics, "I'm a movement by myself, but I'm a force when we're together." This sentiment speaks truth for how Carjie and Kerwin have been there for each other since the year 2012. One night at an Alpha Phi Alpha BBQ on campus, these two locked eyes in a crowded room.
While neither Carjie nor Kerwin wanted to attend the BBQ in the first place, they had no idea that they would meet their future partner/best friend that in layman's terms would "make them better". Carjie wasn't looking for anything at the time but was open to the handsome guy she waved to, who later walked her to her car. After Carjie and her now-husband Kerwin exchanged numbers, they naturally spent every day together after that.
Eight years of marriage and two beautiful children later, Dr. Carjie and Dr. Kerwin Scott realized that they complement each other in the best ways when it comes to love. Kerwin mentions, "I wanted us to support each other enough where we can still reach the goals we had before we even met." Even in marriage, Carjie and Kerwin worked hard to turn their individual dreams into reality.
They trusted each other where they may have been able to handle things on their own, but they provided that support for one another to make it to the top. Carjie and Kerwin understood the value that each other brought to the table and used their love for each other to take them to higher levels and new heights.
In this installment of "Our First Year", xoNecole was able to sit down with Carjie and Kerwin to talk more about building a life together, taking risks, and believing in each other to reach their full potential.
Courtesy of Dr. Carjie Scott
How We Met
Kerwin: One of my frat brothers was having a BBQ. I was playing cards and I saw Carjie and her friend walk in. I thought to myself, 'Man, she looks good.' I was trying to see if she was there with somebody. So I was looking at her and she waved at me. It made me nervous, so I gave her a head nod (laughs). I told myself that before she leaves I would approach her and talk to her. When she was leaving, I walked up to her and asked her if I could walk her to her car. We talked a little. I was honest with her about what I wanted to do in my life and what I was looking for at the time. She reciprocated and we exchanged numbers.
Carjie: My friend had just crossed Delta and she invited me to the Alpha BBQ. I didn't want to go at first because I'm not in a sorority, but I went to support my friend. So I was sitting on the couch and I saw him looking at me. I waved at him and he didn't wave back at me. I thought to myself, 'Fine whatever. I'm trying to be nice and he doesn't want to speak back. I didn't even want to be here in the first place, so I'm ready to go.' [laughs] My friend and I are walking out and that's when Kerwin walks up saying that he would walk me to my car.
First Impressions
Carjie: I thought he was a handsome guy. He had on his glasses and looked like he was smart. When we finally talked and he told me everything that he wanted to do in his life, I found myself wanting to learn more. I wasn't really expecting anything. So even if we didn't get together, I thought we could at least be good friends.
Kerwin: I thought she was different. Honestly, when I walked her to her car, I noticed her big blue truck. At the time, I was looking for someone that was different. Someone that could take me outside of my comfort zone. That's what intrigued me and made me want to get to know her more. The way she carried herself, how she wasn't like the other girls I was used to, and that big blue truck.
Courtesy fo Dr. Carjie Scott
"I thought she was different. At the time, I was looking for someone that was different. Someone that could take me outside of my comfort zone. That's what intrigued me and made me want to get to know her more."
The One
Carjie: I can be a tough nut to crack. I love that he has earned my trust and that he is patient with me. Together, we have become this purpose-led couple who inspires others to be successful in areas that you usually do not see black people in. More than anything else, he brings out the best in me. I couldn't picture my life without him. It's as simple as that.
Kerwin: When we first started dating, I liked that she had been through a lot in her life and she was willing to share that with me. That's important to me because if you are able to be upfront about things, it helps build trust. It showed me that she was at least committed to seeing how things could go with us. From the conversations that we had, I knew that I had to be better personally. When you're single, you can do certain things and there aren't huge consequences. When you add someone into your life, there comes that new level of responsibility. So with her, I felt that she was it and there wouldn't be anyone better.
Biggest Fears
Carjie: I didn't have any fears. I saw how I could bring value into his life and we started off as really good friends. I thought he was a super cool guy and thought that if it went there, I already trusted him. I knew he wouldn't betray me or do anything to intentionally hurt me. Don't get me wrong, no relationship is perfect. We do get on each other's nerves and stuff. But with him, I wouldn't say I was fearful. Any fears that I may have had, I would cast them to God because that has always been my foundation.
Kerwin: I felt like now that I told her all this stuff about what I wanted to do, I had to make it happen. I was fearful with the thought of, 'Could I get there?' The last thing I wanted to do was bring her into a relationship and the respect for me is lost. But I think in the end, pushing myself and her allowing me to fall, helped me combat that fear. She reassured me that we are going to get to where we needed to be and I'm so appreciative of that.
Courtesy of Dr. Carjie Scott
"Together, we have become this purpose-led couple who inspires others to be successful in areas that you usually do not see black people in. More than anything else, he brings out the best in me. I couldn't picture my life without him. It's as simple as that."
Early Challenges
Carjie: I consider myself a big risk-taker. Kerwin and I have been through situations that probably would have broken other marriages. When we met, we went from 0-180 miles per hour. When we got married, I was three months pregnant. We bought a house three months after we got married and a year after that we left that house so that Kerwin could attend medical school out of state. When we left that house, we moved into a tiny apartment in Tennessee where Kerwin's program was. It was just a lot of adjustments we had to work through. Sometimes things can affect your marriage where you may grow resentment towards each other. But we grew and continued to lean on each other nevertheless. We just figured it out together and it allowed us to overcome a lot of challenges.
Kerwin: During that time, things were moving so fast for us. There were times where I would leave in the morning and I wouldn't see her until the next morning. Whether I never came home from school or she was busy with her job or her degree. We didn't have time to argue about the small stuff. We had to learn how to put the small stuff on the back burner until we could deal with it. I feel like that helped keep things stable at the time.
"Sometimes things can affect your marriage where you may grow resentment towards each other. But we grew and continued to lean on each other nevertheless. We just figured it out together and it allowed us to overcome a lot of challenges."
Love Lessons
Kerwin: The biggest lesson I've learned is that you have to be cautious and guard your relationship. Everyone does not have the best intentions and it can really be harmful to your relationship giving the outside world complete access to it. Being mindful of that protects you from a lot of negativity.
Carjie: The biggest lesson for me is to trust the process and appreciate what you have right now. To try not to move so fast so you do not miss the blessing that is right in front of you.
For more about Carjie and Kerwin, follow them on social media and check out their daughter Channing's business here.
Featured image courtesy of Dr. Carjie and Dr. Kerwin Scott
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So, we handpicked one hundred It Girls who embody that palpable It Factor moving through us as young Black women, the kind of motion lighting up the world both IRL and across the internet.
It Girl 100 became xoNecole’s most successful program, with the hashtag organically reaching more than forty million impressions on Instagram in just twenty-four hours. Yes, it caught on like wildfire because we celebrated some of the most brilliant and influential GenZennial women of color setting trends and shaping culture. But more than that, it resonated because the women we celebrated felt seen.
Many were already known in their industries for keeping this generation fly and lit, but rarely received recognition or flowers. It Girl 100 became a safe space to be uplifted, and for us as Black women to bask in what felt like an era of our brilliance, beauty, and boundless influence on full display.
And then, almost overnight, it was as if the rug was pulled from under us as Black women, as the It Girls of the world.
Our much-needed, much-deserved season of ease and soft living quickly metamorphosed into a time of self-preservation and survival. Our motion and economic progression seemed strategically slowed, our light under siege.
The air feels heavier now. The headlines colder. Our Black girl magic is being picked apart and politicized for simply existing.
With that climate shift, as we prepare to launch our second annual It Girl 100 honoree list, our team has had to dig deep on the purpose and intention behind this year’s list. Knowing the spirit of It Girl 100 is about motion, sauce, strides, and progression, how do we celebrate amid uncertainty and collective grief when the juice feels like it is being squeezed out of us?
As we wrestled with that question, we were reminded that this tension isn’t new. Black women have always had to find joy in the midst of struggle, to create light even in the darkest corners. We have carried the weight of scrutiny for generations, expected to be strong, to serve, to smile through the sting. But this moment feels different. It feels deeply personal.
We are living at the intersection of liberation and backlash. We are learning to take off our capes, to say no when we are tired, to embrace softness without apology.
And somehow, the world has found new ways to punish us for it.
In lifestyle, women like Kayla Nicole and Ayesha Curry have been ridiculed for daring to choose themselves. Tracee Ellis Ross was labeled bitter for speaking her truth about love. Meghan Markle, still, cannot breathe without critique.
In politics, Kamala Harris, Letitia James, and Jasmine Crockett are dragged through the mud for standing tall in rooms not built for them.
In sports, Angel Reese, Coco Gauff, and Taylor Townsend have been reminded that even excellence will not shield you from racism or judgment.
In business, visionaries like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye and Melissa Butler are fighting to keep their dreams alive in an economy that too often forgets us first.
Even our icons, Beyoncé, Serena, and SZA, have faced criticism simply for evolving beyond the boxes society tried to keep them in.
From everyday women to cultural phenoms, the pattern is the same. Our light is being tested.
And yet, somehow, through it all, we are still showing up as that girl, and that deserves to be celebrated.
Because while the world debates our worth, we keep raising our value. And that proof is all around us.
This year alone, Naomi Osaka returned from motherhood and mental health challenges to reach the semifinals of the US Open. A’ja Wilson claimed another MVP, reminding us that beauty and dominance can coexist. Brandy and Monica are snatching our edges on tour. Kahlana Barfield Brown sold out her new line in the face of a retailer that had been canceled. And Melissa Butler’s company, The Lip Bar, is projecting a forty percent surge in sales.
We are no longer defining strength by how much pain we can endure. We are defining it by the unbreakable light we continue to radiate.
We are the women walking our daily steps and also continuing to run solid businesses. We are growing in love, taking solo trips, laughing until it hurts, raising babies and ideas, drinking our green juice, and praying our peace back into existence.
We are rediscovering the joy of rest and realizing that softness is not weakness, it is strategy.
And through it all, we continue to lift one another. Emma Grede is creating seats at the table. Valeisha Butterfield has started a fund for jobless Black women. Arian Simone is leading in media with fearless conviction. We are pouring into each other in ways the world rarely sees but always feels.
So yes, we are in the midst of societal warfare. Yes, we are being tested. Yes, we are facing economic strain, political targeting, and public scrutiny. But even war cannot dim a light that is divinely ours.
And we are still shining.
And we are still softening.
And we are still creating.
And we are still It.
That is the quiet magic of Black womanhood, our ability to hold both truth and triumph in the same breath, to say yes, and to life’s contradictions.
It is no coincidence that this year, as SheaMoisture embraces the message “Yes, And,” they stand beside us as partners in celebrating this class of It Girls. Because that phrase, those two simple words, capture the very essence of this moment.
Yes, we are tired. And we are still rising.
Yes, we are questioned. And we are the answer.
Yes, we are bruised. And we are still beautiful.
This year’s It Girl 100 is more than a list. It is a love letter to every Black woman who dares to live out loud in a world that would rather she whisper. This year’s class is living proof of “Yes, And,” women who are finding ways to thrive and to heal, to build and to rest, to lead and to love, all at once.
It is proof that our joy is not naive, our success not accidental. It is the reminder that our light has never needed permission.
So without further ado, we celebrate the It Girl 100 Class of 2025–2026.
We celebrate the millions of us who keep doing it with grace, grit, and glory.
Because despite it all, we still shine.
Because we are still her.
Because we are still IT, girl.
Meet all 100 women shaping culture in the It Girl 100 Class of 2025. View the complete list of honorees here.
Featured image by xoStaff
This year's It Girl 100 is a mosaic of brilliance, spotlighting entrepreneurs, cultural disruptors, beauty visionaries, and boundary-pushing creatives who embody the spirit of "Yes, And." This digital celebration honors the women who embrace every facet of themselves, proving you can chase the bag and still honor your desire to live life softly.
Here's the roll call for xoNecole's It Girl 100 Class of 2025: Viral Voices.
Content Creator Eni Popoola
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Eni Popoola
Her Handle: @enipopoola
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Content Creator Jessie Woo
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Jessie Woo
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Media Personality, Founder and Host Kayla Nicole
Credit: Malcolm Roberson
Kayla Nicole
Her Handle: @kaylanicole
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Simi Muhumuza
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Creator Kiera Please
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Kiera Please
Her Handle: @kieraplease
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Content Creator Zaynah Bear
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Zaynah Bear
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Social Media Consultant and Creative Candace Marie
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Candace Marie
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Co-Host of 'Pour Minds' Podcast Lex P
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Jeannette Reyes
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Akilah Releford
Her Handle: @akilahreleford
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Kayla Greaves
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Digital Creator Lauren W.
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Lauren W.
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Clarke Peoples
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Kamrin White
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Lifestyle and Beauty Creator Jayla Brenae
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Jayla Brenae
Her Handle: @jaylabrenae
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Kendra Austin
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Shema Love
Her Handle: @shemalove
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Content Creator Kristine Thompson
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Kristine Thompson
Her Handle: @mskristine
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Beauty, Lifestyle and Fashion Creator Crystal Nicole
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Crystal Nicole
Her Handle: @iamcrystalnicolee
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Tap into the full It Girl 100 Class of 2025 and meet all the women changing game this year and beyond. See the full list here.
Featured image by xoStaff