A University student’s teaching experience at a local high school has driven her to start a nonprofit organization aimed at helping African-American high school students.
In August 2012, political science senior Roxana Murphy began teaching an ACT preparation class at Pointe Coupee Central High School. While teaching at this predominantly African-American school, Murphy encountered several issues within the community that drove her to action, such as a lack of self-worth and pride in African-American heritage and culture.
One specific issue Murphy said she sees with her students is a “crab in a barrel mentality.” Just like crabs in a barrel, she could see her students bringing one another down instead of being an uplifting and positive friend or classmate.
Murphy said she was not able to simply watch her students behavior and not act. So she formed the Soul Scholarship and Youth Advancement Program, better known as Soul Scholars.
Soul Scholars is a part of another student-run organization called Soul Movement. Founded by her brother Mario Murphy, Soul Movement is aimed at helping people achieve their dreams through self-awareness.
This nonprofit is made up of a 16-week semester and is divided into two-week workshops. These workshops cover various topics such as crafting, self-awareness, history and culture.
Each Soul Scholar can advance through the program in what Murphy called the “gem system.” When someone enters the program, he or she is given a small gem resembling a ruby to represent integrity and pride.
And when a scholar completes a random act of kindness, he or she advances to the next color in the rainbow. The highest level is a black pearl for girls, and a black diamond for boys, to represent self-worth and being black in America.
“They just want someone to be proud of them,” Murphy said.
Murphy currently has 15 ethnically diverse mentors who she said are the keys to running Soul Scholars. The mentors are paired with a mentee to help address any issues they are facing.
Willie Lewis, mechanical engineer senior, said he uses his own life experience to help bring positivity into his mentee’s life. Lewis has been self-sufficient since he was 16 years old and said he can relate to other students dealing with difficult circumstances.
“Those kids never make it out,” Lewis said. “What they need is exposure and encouragement.”
Murphy said she is always looking for more students to be involved. Murphy looks for mentors who are positive and asks them to write a 250-word essay on why they would be a good mentor.
“There is a certain level of crabs in a barrel mentality happening among the black community.”