By Jennifer L. Warren
POUGHKEEPSIE – Standing up proudly, while clearly enunciating his or her name, each of the youth followed up with a word encapsulating what was gleaned from the morning’s event: “Motivation,” “Confidence,” and “Connections,” led the top replies.
Saturday, inside the Poughkeepsie Middle School, from 11:00am-1:00pm, Brothers from Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. were joined by members of their Kappa League youth program, hosting a venue exposing middle and high school students to the importance of fostering study skills, exposing them to career opportunities as well as showing them some of the tools needed for success in both work and life. Highlighting the informative event were three guest speakers, each with local roots: Kimani Henry, Cody Gibbs and Nia Hopkins.
Henry, who will be graduating from Poughkeepsie High School next month and carries an impressive grade point average while taking several honor courses, will be the recipient of a scholarship from the Fraternity’s Foundation. Headed to Morgan State University in the fall to pursue a major in Economics and minor in Finance, he has tallied several impressive accolades this year, revealing his incredible work ethic, focus and perseverance.
“Goals are what have kept me grounded and focused on success,” Henry told the Kappa League students. “Discipline and focus are what allowed me to continue to move forward even when times were difficult; life will always have pressure, and asking for help does not make you weak, but something successful people do for support.”
Henry also spoke about the pearls of “brotherhood” something he mined as a member of My Brother’s Keeper, teaching him the importance of making connections and prioritization of goal-setting.
“Goals give you something to work toward, a purpose,” Henry said. “I work through everything for my younger self and realize success does not happen overnight, but comes from developing habits that shape you.”
The next speaker, Cody Gibbs, a graduate of Arlington High School and recently Lincoln University where he was the Valedictorian with a 4.0 grade point average, also relayed words centered upon those transformative habits and how they inspired his becoming the best version of himself, a point he stressed to his young listeners.
“While in college, I took on multiple jobs and roles to be the best I could; for you guys it’s the same, and you should try to improve every day,” said Gibbs who majored in Health Science and aspires to work in the Perfusion field, operating heart and lung machines during open heart surgery. “It’s important to plan your future on paper, set goals for each year to accomplish and write them down so you can see it. Gibbs added, “My parents taught me many lessons and to do great things in life.”
The third speaker, Nia Hopkins, is on the path to doing those amazing feats. A graduate of John Jay High School and the University of Delaware, Hopkins is currently at Cornell Veterinarian Medical School. Despite her impressive present accolades, Hopkins was candid about her journey not always being linear and laden with challenges.
“My path has not been easy at all; when I was younger, I was diagnosed with ADHD; it seemed like all my peers were always doing better and school came easier for them, but I decided to use my condition as fuel, going into AIS classes, getting a tutor outside of school, and seeking out teachers to get more work and help,” recalled Hopkins, who also spoke about the “incredible help” she got from her AKA group involvement, meeting mentors who motivated her to aim higher and hone critical professional skills. “Asking for help never ends; I want each of you not to be afraid to ask for it, set your goals high and know you can achieve whatever you set out to do.”
Kappa League students were also provided with the seeds for the motivation, confidence and connections they spoke of from the nine Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc Brothers in the room. Each spoke of his present profession as well as the priceless details and empowering lessons taken away from the inspiring, memorable day.
