Sojourner James

I attribute my success to determination and motivation. Literally, as I was saying earlier, being determined to not be like anything I saw before me. I was determined to get out of poverty, get out of being labeled uneducated, being labeled lazy, being labeled those things. My motivation was not being a statistic. I never, ever wanted to be living the life I was exposed to. A lot of the things that shaped me was just growing up, being in the environment that I was in, and just knowing that I wanted different for myself. I didn't want to be like the things around me, and I wanted to break the generation of curses. I didn't want to be in the streets, I didn't want to be in the gangs, I didn't want to be following after the men - I wanted to do my own thing and have my own path. That was one of the main things that shaped me, not being like the things that were before me.

I would say stay solid and stay strong. Know the type of role model you want to be before entering this field. There are so many people who get inside of the field and don't realize the impact that they make, so people need to realize the type of impact that they want to make before they step into the field. I think that's very important, instead of just jumping in. When you're dealing with people, especially children, it's extremely important. It's very imperative to be very intentional on the things that you put out and you feed to them. So I would just say that - know the type of role model you want to be, and once you realize that, take it and run it up. Go as far as you can with it.

The biggest challenges right now are trying to allow the kids to understand that even though we're not in their shoes, we can still give the advice, because we're adults and we've been there and done that. Trying to just get the kids to know that I'm not against you, I'm with you - that is one of the hardest challenges dealing with at-risk youth. Just to make them understand that you're not their enemy, you're actually a part of the team. That's a very major challenge. Another challenge is trying to reshape their brain, because they've been used to this one way for so long, and we are trying to reshape it in a more positive way. It's very, very hard when they've been used to something for so long. On the flip side, the opportunities are being able to see the kids grow and know that the things you're working so hard to teach them and show them are actually being implemented, and you can see it working. When the kids end up leaving and they come back, and they got their apartment, or they got a car, or they got their license, being able to see that lets you know that you're putting your best foot forward and it's actually being taken. It's a blessing to see the success out of the kids, especially when they came in one way and they leave out a different way. It's a very good feeling - you feel like you accomplished something. It's extremely rewarding.

I would say being able to stick to the things that you believe in. A lot of times we stray, we get astray off of things, and we start doing things that's not what we're used to. So I would just say stick to what you believe in, and stick to your morals and your ethics, and not fall into the cracks of other things. Staying true to myself and what I believe in - that's what's most important to me.