Guest speaker offers life lessons to VGCC students

The Male Mentoring Program at Vance-Granville Community College hosted author, entrepreneur, social activist and educator Dr. NKrumah Lewis as a special guest speaker on Nov. 13 on VGCC’s Main Campus. He shared stories from his own life to offer a message of hope to young people, as he does in his autobiography, “Becoming A Butterfly: From Prison to Ph.D.”

 

Lewis (pictured above), a Durham native, recounted a childhood in an abusive home, followed by homelessness, a life of crime and incarceration.

 

Lewis quoted Mark Twain as saying, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Lewis asked the VGCC audience, “Do you know why you were born? There is a purpose for everyone in this room.” His own purpose is to change the “trajectory” of young people who are on destructive paths, and “to be like the firefighter who goes back into the burning building to rescue others.”

 

Reflecting on his early years, Lewis said, “I did everything I could to assassinate my purpose and end my life — but education has saved my life.” His life took a new turn when evidence showed that he did not commit the crime for which he had been imprisoned, and he applied to UNC-Greensboro before he was released from prison. He completed his four-year degree in sociology in two and a half years. “People in prison long for the day when they can get out and go to school,” Lewis told the audience. “Education should give you an opportunity, so don’t waste it. No matter what you’ve done, you can turn it around.”

 

Lewis went on to earn a master’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University and a Ph.D. in sociology from Virginia Tech. He serves on institutional research boards at both UNC-Greensboro and Wake Forest University, and is a mentor for the Real Men Teach Program and program evaluator for the University of North Carolina’s Minority Male Mentoring Program. He founded a non-profit organization, the Renaissance and Empowerment Project, Inc. in Greensboro. Lewis is not through with his own education, as he plans to enroll in Duke Divinity School next year. “The final chapter in my life has not been written yet, and your story is not over, either,” he told his audience.

 

For more information on the VGCC Male Mentoring Program, contact Anthony Pope at (252) 738-3395 or popea@vgcc.edu .