“I started working at the Tommy Hilfiger in the mall during my senior year of high school. It was my first job, and I’ve been there ever since. I applied for it because my grandma told me I needed to get some work experience. Part of that was to get out of her pockets because she does almost everything for me. I needed to do something on my own and have my own money. I also needed to learn how to manage my money to be able to get the things I want, and that has helped me appreciate those things more. And I actually enjoy working. I come in early, and I stay late. If I could work every day, I pretty much would. That work ethic probably comes from my mom.

My mom was a single parent with four kids, and when I was growing up, we struggled a bit. But she made it work. She gave up a lot to make sure we had what we had. Even when it looked like it was impossible, she still got the job done. She’s that example of how I need to go about my life to get where I want to go.

In the future, I want to be a fashion designer and a business owner. I plan on being able to do more for not only myself but for my entire family. I have to do this for them. Failure is not an option because if it wasn’t for my family, I would not be at Jackson State. They paved the road. I just go the rest of the way.”

– Robert, sophomore business administration major from Memphis, Tenn.

“I really want to be an entrepreneur and own a gym. I want to help people work out and learn about the body. I got into fitness through sports, like football, boxing, and powerlifting. When you’re in football, working out is like second nature. I felt like I didn’t win the day if I didn’t work out. It was something that I had fun with, and I want to have fun when I go to work. I want a gym that’s almost like a hard gym and then has a commercial side to it. When you do powerlifting, you can’t go to a commercial gym to work out and deadlift. I want a powerlifting side where we can do hard workouts and be comfortable, and the other side will be a commercial gym for everybody else. We would want to reach everybody.

Actually, I just transferred back to JSU from another school in Texas. I left JSU in 2020 to play football out there. Once I graduate, I’m going to move back to Texas. I already have friends out there who are on the same page as me. Right now, it’s six people on the team, but sometimes it grows. I’ll discuss my idea with somebody, and they’ll ask if they can assist. And it’s not just personal trainers. I have people who do videography, which is good for marketing. I have people who are good with accounting. And I’m the CEO.

I know a lot of people who want to be entrepreneurs are just trying to get rich quickly, and they aren’t really focused on the process. They don’t really see the small steps, like making your first $1,000 or $2,000. But there are steps to it. You’re probably going to mess up like a hundred times until you get it right. And I’m not trying to live a fast life with a flashy lifestyle. I just want to be able to take care of my family, my future kids, and my kids’ kids. I want to set something up for them so they’ll be straight.”

– Alvin, senior business administration major from Hattiesburg, Miss.

“Iwas the third person in my family to graduate high school. I was the first to graduate from college. And being a first-generation college student was hard. I didn’t have too many people to go to for guidance. I found myself turning to professors and other students on campus, a lot, like, ‘Ok. What do you do next?’ Especially with financial aid, I’d ask them, ‘How do you apply for scholarships?’

But my mom pushed me to come out of my shell and told me to not be afraid. She told me that being a first-generation college student doesn’t make me less than anyone else. I lost my mom during my junior year at Jackson State and that was hard. It was very challenging. I wanted to give up, but it’s like she came to me in a dream and said, ‘No. You’re going to finish this.’ So instead of balling up, crying, and dropping out, I used it as motivation to get me here.