2019 marks the 13th year of the Annual Meet the Future Luncheon and its celebration of student scholars at the Academy of Construction and Design. Each year brings a new class of graduates. But it also introduces a renowned guest speaker to share lifelong lessons, experiences and guidance to young people embarking on the next journey in their lives. In May, former NFLer Fred Smoot will take the stage for the second time as keynoter (his first turn came in 2017, when he talked hunger for the game, overcoming life’s challenges and working consistently to achieve his dream). Ahead of this year’s ceremony, JOBS Coalition Pathways revisits some of the best speaker moments since the event started in 2007.
By the time the local news anchor returned to the Meet the Future Luncheon in 2015, he had even more golden nuggets for the newly-minted grads. He advised them to take on the work that is given without complaint. And when others demand more, strive to impress.
“Honor yourself by the work that you do,” he said that year. He also urged the young people to empower themselves by reading and knowing their history, and always taking responsibility for their own actions.
TURN ON THE APPLAUSE Academy students express congrats to the latest scholarship winners; (inset) the 2012 luncheon keynoter, author Nathan McCall, shares his truth.
was enrolled in college. But after violating his probation by committing an armed robbery, McCall received a 12-year sentence.
He would go on to recount his struggles in the autobiography, “Makes Me Wanna Holler: A Young Black Man in America.” McCall that day shared how literature and education proved a saving grace for him, helping to turn his life around. While addressing the graduates, he also urged them to be reflective — all while preparing for something greater.
“Dare to explore the community around you, dare to dream. Most people who change the world didn’t come from rich or privileged backgrounds,” said Nnamdi while acknowledging the hard work of his parents — his mother worked as a seamstress and his father a shipping company clerk.
Along with encouragement, he also shared words of wisdom for a technology-driven world. “Be protective of your life online, be protective of your privacy because the stupid things we do today won’t necessarily define who we are tomorrow,” said Nnamdi.
to previous generations that fulfilled their missions, and because of that, students have freedoms and rights today. He cited the Voting Rights Act, Civil Rights Act and Fair Housing Act as examples of those strides made and missions fufilled.