STL AMERICAN - The Need for MANUP

August 12TH, 2019

As a black man, I felt significant pressure to succeed from my culture but lacked the support, tools and resources needed to help guide me on the road to achievement I so desperately wanted to reach.

Soon after graduating from McCluer North High School, I was accepted into Arkansas State University, a Division 1 school. I believed the cross-country track scholarship and academic scholarship I received would pave the way toward achieving my dreams. It wasn’t quite that easy.

Though Arkansas State University treated me well, the lack of diversity at the school played a large role in developing a key awareness that black men have a place in society. I couldn’t afford a private high school education like my white teammates and classmates or pay for my own college tuition. If I had the same opportunity of resources, perhaps I could have adequately prepared myself for success in higher education. READ MORE: STL - American