In the News

Miami Times Article

More than 100 young, mostly Black men signed away all stereotypes in grand style Sunday, at a 5000 Role Models academic scholarship signing event at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami.

Drawing on the athletic signings that many men of color complete to attend college, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project holds this annual event to recognize young men in its mentoring program who will attend college or pursue other opportunities of higher learning. Named after organization founder Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson, the Wilson Scholars wore suits provided by the nonprofit and signed for their scholarships in front of friends, families and community leaders on the Arsht’s Knight Concert Hall stage.

The students received scholarships to attend Florida colleges such as Florida International University, University of Florida and Florida State University; historically Black colleges such as Bethune-Cookman, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and Benedict College; military schools such as the United States Naval Academy and more.

The 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project was launched in 1993 by Wilson to ensure that every minority male student graduates from high school; attends college, vocational school or the military; and becomes a productive member of society. The project pairs successful, adult minority males in schools to mentor students of color who are considered “at-risk” youth, to steer them away from violence and crime.

Miami-Dade County Commission Vice Chair Oliver Gilbert III and Steve Gallon, board vice chair of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, joined Wilson at the event. Wilson expressed that while the nation is currently reeling over gun violence and racism, she is confident that the young men graduating from her program will transcend the prejudices associated with their race or ethnicity, just as their predecessors have.

While 5000 Role Models is active in a majority of the county’s public schools, Coral Reef Senior High School has one of the largest chapters. Site director Michelle Delgado says the program gives students hope by interacting with others like themselves who are successful.

Two students from the Coral Reef chapter will be attending Ivy League universities in the fall.

Coral Reef Wilson Scholar Demari Jacob will enter Columbia University to study civil engineering. He applied to a dozen schools and was accepted to each one except Georgia Tech, but Columbia was always his first choice.

He will graduate Columbia with no debt, thanks to the university’s nearly full-ride scholarship, with 5000 Role Models covering remaining costs.

Jacob has loved STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) since he was in elementary school. He went all the way to Calculus BC in high school and has taught STEM classes at Second Baptist Church’s summer camp.

Though he always had good grades, he says he saw track as his “way out” and began training at the early age of 7. He medaled multiple times in school events and in the junior Olympics.

But during his freshman year of high school, Jacob tore a hip muscle that didn’t allow him to compete anymore. In his downtime, he began fostering cats and dogs. While he received community service hours for his volunteerism, he loved doing it. That motivated him to create his own website (still in progress) called Pet Pals that assists in animal adoption by sharing images of and information about animals looking for forever homes at different shelters all over the city.

As a first-generation college student, he said he spent a lot of late nights working on applications. Though his mom was supportive and stayed up with him many an evening, she didn’t understand the whole process. And because his parents are divorced and he wasn’t close to his father, he says he feels lucky to have been a part of 5000 Role Models.

The organization taught him how to carry himself and he highly recommends joining the group, as it teaches students essential life skills such how to tie a tie and deliver a firm handshake. While these things may seem insignificant to some, Jacob says he’s learned how important they actually are.

“As a Black male, I have been profiled, and as soon as you step out of your house, everyone is looking. And 5000 Role Models has taught me to keep myself presentable at all times,” he said.

Jacob’s colleague, Isaiah Mars, will be attending Brown University to study neuroscience. Though not a Wilson Scholar because he was awarded a full scholarship by the university, including books and room and board, Mars is vice president of the 5000 Role Models chapter at Coral Reef.

In fifth grade, he knew he wanted to be a neurosurgeon or a cardiothoracic surgeon. His grandmother worked in a hospital, and he loved her stories about her work so much that they inspired him to look more into the field. Mars graduated with three certifications in the medical field: CPR, CMAA (Certified Medical Administrative Assistant) and CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant).

Mars says he learned a lot from 5000 Role Models. The program allowed him to connect with other students he would have otherwise never met and helped him with his public speaking skills. However, he says the most important thing he learned was to be more understanding, and have sympathy and empathy for others.

“You’re surrounded by people with diverse backgrounds and coming from different places. It makes you more cognizant of the world around us,” he said. “The person next to you could not have a mother, could not have a father, and you’re sitting comfortable at home and laughing with your family.”

As a Black man in today’s world, Mars says he knows people may be shocked at his accomplishments, as they were when he won academic medals in middle school.

“My whole goal is to prove people wrong. [To] show them that I’m more than what meets the eye. So, whoever I meet, I carry myself the same way as I would want to be treated,” he said.  

The two young men hope that other first-generation college students know how many resources are available to them. With the internet at everyone’s fingertips, Mars says he utilized it to pursue extracurricular opportunities, improve his writing skills and connect with other students, who he encourages to do the same.

While the scholarship process was tedious, Jacob said it was eye-opening to discover all the resources and opportunities available for low-income and first-generation college students if you just look for them, and stressed that many of his white, middle-class friends struggled to get scholarships.

Both Jacob and Mars graduated Monday. They’ll take the summer off and spend time with family before heading out of state in the fall. Jacob will be visiting Columbia for the first time this weekend.

“I am so proud of these boys. It goes to show that when you have perseverance, you can do anything,” said Delgado, who mentioned that she’s always told students that while someone can take away their car or their house, they can never take away their education.

Young men of color should be given the same amount of fanfare for getting an education as they do for playing college football, according to Wilson, because they need to realize that it is just as important and impactful. Education, she says, is the only key to long-term success for Black Americans because they lack generational wealth.

“We are generational wealth building, education building, family building. We’re even closing the achievement gap in M-DCPS,” she said. “We are trying to build new fathers and new husbands, and we have a wonderful job in doing that.”