Sometimes, you can have a vision for your future but not know how to succeed, that was the case for two brothers who are vouching for at-risk youth.
“It gives me space where I can be outgoing,” Jeni Francisco is a freshman at Florida Gulf Coast University.
Francisco has found a place where she can be herself as a first-generation university student. She would not be here if it weren't for Strive Hall.
“No, without JJ, I feel like I wouldn't feel like I belong here,” she said. “I feel like I didn't have a chance to come to FGCU because I didn't believe in myself.”
Her advocates are Quay Longs and Jamaree Jones, the founders of Strive Hall. A nonprofit that motivates at-risk youth, just like they both were.
“I would say just not to fall into the pitfalls that we both felt; we fell in 2012, my first year of college,” Longs said. “I wasn't going to class after a while, drugs.”
Longs had his first college experience cut short. He said he was not in the right mindset and neither was his brother JJ. They dropped out of FGCU.
“Eventually, we realized there's so much that we're learning while we're working because we didn't want to go back home after school because we wouldn't make it back,” Longs said.
Back at home, Longs' father was shot and killed. His brother was sentenced to life in prison.
Both brothers wanted to do what the rest of their family could not go back to school.
As they worked different jobs, they realized they had lots to share.
"We realized, let's put all this stuff together and share it with the world,” he said. “I think the main thing is, this is built on our lives, and so nobody can do this better than us.”
Mentors helped them enroll in the entrepreneurship program at FGCU. That's where they found a way to teach youth.
“Our slogan is connect, experience, learn,” Longs said. “And that's what we focus on. Just make sure the students connect with the college, university, and resources, connect with us, with each other. Experience that here whole new experience, being on a college campus, living in freshman dorms for a few days. We didn't learn.”
Through Strive Hall summer camps and youth programs, they now connect people like Jeni to their dreams.
“My parents are from Guatemala,” Francisco said. “They're proud of me. I'm majoring in pre-nursing, so I recently got my CNA license, and they were really happy, and they wanted me to continue my education.”
These brothers look forward to continuing camps to help others thrive.
In two years, Strive Hall has helped over 150 students with free resources and three-day summer camps.
If you are a college student or a student interested in going to college but do not know where to start, head on over to their website
here
.