Three years ago, no one would believe that I was in college, let alone doing anything positive. Without Abundant Life, I would not be where I am today.
How long have you been in the Prospect Community and how long have you been a part of Abundant Life?
I didn’t live in Prospect; I live on Cherry Avenue. I have family that lives on Prospect. I was visiting them one day, and I got caught up in Abundant Life. Since then, I have been a part of Abundant Life. That was when I was in Kindergarten or First Grade.
I remember getting Blue Bucks and going to Christmas Store. My best memory is when I was the second kid to go into Store at 8AM to shop while all the gifts were still there. I also remember being one of the bad kids, and not having a lot of Blue Bucks. I had to go in and shop around 1PM, where there was nothing really left. In my earlier years of Abundant Life, James Gilliam was my mentor. He and I had a huge bond and connection. We would meet twice a week or so and we would talk.
Is there anyone in particular that you remember from Abundant Life that was impactful in your life?
Abundant Life helped me gather my thoughts. At Abundant Life, it’s a community of a bunch of kids from all around, and I was able to find myself through the group by just staying in my lane and blending in with other kids. That has helped me a lot in the real world. STRIVE helped me gather my steps to help me get ready for the next thing. 5/8 helped me gain brotherhood. Tutoring and Abundant Life itself helped me gain community connection and the importance of understanding each other.
What would be your approach to a lot of the things happening in our community in terms of gun violence?
My approach starts with the kids and the importance of relationship-building and having someone to come alongside them. Kids that are experiencing trouble full into suspension. Suspending kids is not an effective process, because it isolates the children from the school setting and when they return they’re not going to want to do better. In School Suspension, however, allows the students to have the time that they need and still be able to learn at school and not have to miss anything. Out of School Suspension means that the student is missing out on a lot and not caught up with the class- making students feel like outsiders. When a student gets in trouble at school and then they go home where their parents might be hard on them, makes them feel bad about themselves. Kids should be able to know that someone is there for them and not trying to isolate them. Knowing that you can count on someone for something takes someone much further than just removing them. There were times where even I felt like I didn’t have anyone to count on, and that caused me to turn to things that weren’t healthy for me. All it takes is having a connection with someone and knowing that someone is there that you can count on.
Do you feel like if you didn’t have a program like Abundant Life that your life goals would be different right now?
Very different. As a kid I ran into the wrong crowd and got peer pressured into a lot of things. I ended up having to serve time in juvenile detention and was even on house arrest. That was a very dark point in my life where I felt like I didn’t have the answers for anything. That was because I didn’t have the escape that programs like Abundant Life provided. I was left alone to make the mistakes that I did. That really messed me up and I forgot who I was. Once I got back into STRIVE in my tenth or eleventh grade year, and Bruce became my mentor, I had a person that I could talk to and check in with. That helped me get back on my feet by being able to talk to him and tell him about my accomplishments.
Can you talk about Soccer? I know that has been very important to you finding who you are.
I made the Virginia State Soccer Team, though I didn’t expect to go to college to play Soccer. Sports in general have been an outlet for me my whole life to be able to release anger and pain that I’ve experienced. Making a college VSU Soccer team really allowed me to see that I still have the ability to play on the next level. Soccer itself relies heavily on teamwork more than any other sport. It involves the entire team and they’re all a part of each other.
What is your major in College and how did your major play a part in you coming to volunteer with Abundant Life this summer?
My major is Psychology and I would like to be a counselor.
Growing up, my parents were around but they worked a lot. My parents are both immigrants and they had to do the jobs that no one else was doing and had to work the hours that no one else wanted to work. Most of the time, it was just my siblings and I. My little brother and I would go to Abundant Life and have so much fun, and that allowed us to forget that our mom and dad were working late hours. We used to get upset at them for having to work so much, not realizing that it was putting food on the table for us. We are thankful that our parents put us in Abundant Life so that we could have the wrap-around support that is needed to raise a child. It takes a village to raise a child, I love that quote.
I wanted to come back to Abundant Life this summer because I have an understanding that it starts with the youth. I have been able to be present with the boys and make connections with them, allowing them to have a big brother around. In the Psychology field, you don’t run into a lot of male counselors. I’ve always had a female counselor. In 5th grade, though, I had a male counselor, Mr. K, and he really stood out to me. He would help me do things that no one else would help me do. He would help me write letters to my older brother who is locked up in prison. He would ship them out for me and allow me to read my letters from my brother in his office. If I felt emotional, he would talk through those feelings with me. It is because of Mr. K that I was able to find out where my brother was when my family didn’t know and connect with him. I can recall all of the emotions that I felt the first time I ever got a letter back from my brother. It was the first time that I talked to him in five years. I will always tilt my hat to Mr. K for awarding me that opportunity.
Being a counselor will give young men the opportunity to open up more. Majority of the time, it is the African American kids who need someone to talk to the most. I want the students to be able to see a familiar face and have the same safe space and village that I was awarded. Having this for myself growing up steered me in the direction of counseling.
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