Professionals share success stories with teens at conference

Coming of age in the late 1960s and early '70s in Detroit, Morris Jenkins, now dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Southeast Missouri State University, saw a lot of social upheaval with the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

At the same time, Jenkins wanted to be lead singer of The Temptations, something he still aspires to. But his life has taken many turns from serving in the Army and Marines to becoming a lawyer and professor.

Jenkins shared his story with about 285 people -- mostly kids ranging from 12 to 18 from a 28-county area of Southeast Missouri -- at Wednesday's 25th annual Community Caring Conference. Held at CrossRoads Church in Jackson, the event's theme was "Finding Our Spark," aimed at helping kids find and pursue their passion.

He went through many incarnations from the military and becoming a lawyer -- he wanted to be the black Perry Mason -- to his current position at Southeast.

"My passion was really in higher ed," Jenkins said.

He offered five pieces of advice to attendees:

* Work hard and play hard, but don't abuse your body. At one point, he said, he had a problem with alcohol.

* Always take time for yourself. Sometimes, Jenkins said, "we forget to meditate" and take care of ourselves. He likes fishing to relax.

* Always be a learner. "Keep your mind open because you learn things from everybody," he said. Jenkins has four grandchildren and learns from them every day. He said he also learns from people like those in the audience.

* Always keep the faith. "Keep your eyes on the prize. Do things daily to better yourself," Jenkins said. He cited a line from the song "Greatest Love of All," which says learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.

* Follow your passion, always. "Do not focus on making money. It never works. People who are successful -- they focus on their passion."

He also told youngsters to keep pushing and always have backup plans. "Never let anyone doubt you. You're going to have your haters," Jenkins said. " ... As you venture off and do whatever you're going to do, keep those five things in mind."

Tameka Kyles, college access coordinator for Southeast, serves as a liaison between the university, local high schools, and students and their families. As Kyles shared her story, she wanted youngsters to write their own and draw their spark from it.

One of her favorite quotes is from former boxing champion Muhammad Ali: "Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them, a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill and the will, but the will must be stronger than the skill."

"That's kind of been my philosophy since college," Kyles said, adding she takes that with her on the basketball court, to classrooms, the workforce and her volunteer work.

A Cleveland native, Kyles was born with club feet and a heart murmur. Quiet and typically into her books, Kyles was called a nerd and the teacher's pet, but turned those disadvantages into advantages. Kyles was in the National Honor Society, ran track and played basketball.

As a teenager, the tall, skinny 6-footer had the name "Stringbean," which she didn't like at first. She even got teased about her huge smile, called "beaver teeth" and "Kool-Aid smile."

Today it's her signature and helps break barriers for the youths she serves.

She attended Eastern Michigan University initially on a track scholarship, but she worked on her basketball skills and wound up being good enough to earn a hoops scholarship as a walk-on. Kyles first came to Cape Girardeau about 10 years ago as assistant women's basketball coach at Southeast, worked for various not-for-profit groups and went back to Southeast for her master's degree.

Kyles went through a list, based on the word sparks -- story, passion, attitude, relationships, knowledge and success:

* Your attitude represents you.

* Relationships -- draft the team you want around you, made up of people who are positive and productive.

* Knowledge, she said, is key to success and education is a lifetime investment. Your car may go out of style, but your certification and degrees don't. She encouraged the children to be successful in whatever they did whether it was a career, further education, the military or a job.

* Success. Your spark will lead to success. "You have to know your season. When you educate yourself in any form or fashion, that will stay with you."

"Identify your spark and keep it ignited. Remember, there's a process to the progress," Kyles said.

Chase Lee, Haley Miller and Maddy Ward were inspired and encouraged by the conference.

"I think they have a good message to give us. They tell us about their life experiences, then they let us ask them questions," 16-year-old Lee said. He added Jenkins' presentation made him want to be successful and tell his story, as well.

Miller, 13, wants to be a lawyer, like Jenkins, and anytime she feels down, she'll reflect on what he said.

"I thought it was a really good learning experience about how you can go through so much in life and you can still have your spark, even though it's been dampened. ... You can do pretty much whatever you want in life. It's just amazing how many obstacles you do go through, and how many times ... you do mess up, but you can still have the ability to pick up from it.

"It kind of ... gives you a different perspective, and I really like how Mr. Jenkins spoke to us today because it made me look at life in a totally different way. It made my perspective change completely because he went through so many things and did so many careers, but somehow he wound up here with us. It's kind of like a blessing having someone you can relate to in so many ways. They've done everything that you've done, but they made something amazing [of] themselves."

The program, sponsored by the Community Caring Council, THRIVE, Missouri Division of Youth Services and Missouri Mentoring Partnership, also included a performance by Drum Cafe, an interactive team-building, conferencing and corporate events company, videos by the kids showing what their spark is, and team-building activities.

The focus of the Youth Development Committee, THRIVE stands for Teach, Hope, Reach, Involve, Value and Encourage youths to be the best they can be, according to the Community Caring Council website.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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