Emerald passes along the gifts she received from SEI...

When Emerald Armstrong Mitchell was cut from the Jefferson High cheerleading squad for excessive tardiness, she turned it around and founded a dance-style Pep Squad for half-time shows at basketball games. This success of creating something out of nothing changed her life.

In her junior year at Fisk University, Emerald created Moves and Grooves, an enrichment program for inner city children in Nashville, Tennessee. “I established the program as a non-profit and wrote 20 grants that first summer. I got $1,200.00 for a six-week program that served 25 kids!”

“I see myself in each and every one of them. I see that need for a guiding light — someone to believe in you and love you. That’s what I thank SEI for — like my SEI coordinator, Troy Hollis — he spotted me walking my younger brother to preschool every morning, which often made me late for school. Troy arranged a ride for me. Sometimes it’s just the smallest things.”

For Emerald these smallest things added up to a big difference in her life. “SEI was always there to help me.” Her SEI Coordinator helped her with the speech that sealed her place as Jefferson’s Ambassador to the Rose Festival Court, SEI hired her as a dance teacher in their summer program; and SEI CEO Tony Hopson gave her sound advice in founding her Nashville program.

Emerald is happy to pass along the gifts she has received. “SEI has done so much for me; it’s easy for me to encourage others.”

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