Influential Woman · Education and Youth Mentoring

Elista Smith

Founder and Director, RISE (Reaching Individual Students of Excellence)

Marion, SC

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Associate Degree from Coker College (circa 1990) Degree Graduated from high school in 1969

Her Story

About Elista

After graduating from an all-black school in 1969, I couldn't go off to college because my parents weren't able to send me, so I decided to find a good job. I got married to a wonderful guy who was in service, and we've been married for 47 years now. I applied for a position at the hospital and recognized the CEO as someone who used to sell insurance to my mother. He remembered my family and gave me that job without any training. After working at the hospital for a while, I decided to go back to college and attended Coker College, receiving my associate degree around 1990. I worked my way up to Vice President of Patient Financial Services, a position I held for 30 years. During that time, I also served as an elected official on Marion County Council for 26 years. One of my biggest accomplishments was bringing together two rival hospitals, Mullins and Marion, into one centrally located facility, which was a huge job. When I retired from healthcare and county council, I prayed about what to do next and realized I needed to be mentoring kids in an after-school program. I've raised two kids of my own, and community kids always seemed to come over to our house because I love children and finding their hidden talents. My husband told me if that's what I wanted to do, to go for it. So in 2013, I started RISE without any help or financing, and now we have certified teachers who volunteer every day to help children reach their potential.

Quick Facts

IndustryEducation and Youth Mentoring
Based inMarion, SC
Specialty Youth Mentoring, After-School Education, Homework Assistance
- Public Speaking Development
- Performing Arts
- Character Development
Volunteers with Founded and operates RISE (Reaching Individual Students of Excellence)
- A free after-school mentoring program with volunteer certified teachers
- Served 26 years as elected official on Marion County Council

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Elista

01What do you attribute your success to?

I attribute my success to my parents, especially my father. He always told me, 'Whatever you do in life, always give back to somebody. Help somebody.' I've never forgotten that. We lived in the country, and there was a camp down from us. Every day my father would feed somebody from that camp. So I grew up seeing amazing parents giving back, and therefore, I had to give back to the community. That example they set for me shaped everything I do.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I ever received was to be honest, be giving, and always give 100% of whatever you do. You may only do 50, but give 100%, and the rest will fall into place. Everything else will work itself out if you put in that full effort.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

I tell the females at my school: Always act like a lady. Number two, remember everything good that your parents ever told you. And make sure that you give back, no matter if you're going to college. Start now. Don't wait till you get ready to go off to college and then start trying to give back, but give back every day. The kids at the school have to give back - they have to earn $5 a month, and they have to give a certain percentage of that to a church. We attend the church once a month of their choice, parents and children together.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

One of the biggest challenges I see is getting people to give back even a small portion of their time. If everybody would just give back a little, we would have better children. I see the challenge of getting people to want to give back to their community. I know everybody's working and a lot of people are working, so they don't have time, but there are a lot of retired people that could actually help kids. So the biggest challenge is getting parents' cooperation and the community cooperation.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I think my values trickle over to my children's lives, and it's to get a good education, no matter what. I want them to get a good education. I want them to know how to treat people and how to be treated. And demand respect. Education is the foundation, but treating people right and commanding respect are equally important to me.

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