- Alex Harris grew up with little resources in rural Georgia.

Now he's a renowned R & B and soul vocalist, actor and philanthropist.

In 2012, he started the Arts Conservatory for Teens in St. Petersburg, turning his passion for music into a passion to inspire students.

(projector rattling) - I'm from a little small town, Manchester, Georgia and one of eight children, five boys, three girls.

I'm in the middle.

And music, faith, education, family, were the four pillars of our family.

♪ Take me to Heaven every time ♪ I see the gift of music beyond entertainment but also something that is part of our human experience.

All of us, we are creative beings, we are sound, we are rhythm, we are melody.

Therefore, we easily influence or impacted and can be healed by that which we that makes part of our existence.

I want to leave that stage, place that microphone in its stand with a feeling that I have seized this moment and in utilizing my gift to facilitate an experience for someone that's listening to feel the best they've ever felt in that moment.

They're in touch with their inner-self.

♪ She running going high ♪ My music is so important to me, it's part of who I am, I always say that it found me, I found it, or we found each other.

I think too, it's inseparable of my existence.

♪ They say love it's small precious thing ♪ I think that I should also share that experience and the experience can be shared in so many different ways and for me it comes through the sharing and development of a curriculum that we call the Arts Conservatory for Teens that help others who are looking for that platform to develop that discovery as I discovered.

So we started the Arts Conservatory for Teens, the team and I that I assembled to launch this in 2012, and with the focus to help these students who you know that was in the neighborhood and to pursue their dreams and to become successful.

(group chattering) What I desire for students to gain who participate in the Arts Conservatory for Teens curriculum, number one, I want them to gain confidence, two, resilience and three, a conscious of hope that there is hope for achieving their highest dreams is when it comes to success.

What is an opportunity if there isn't a bridge to get to it?

When there is a bridge presented to get to it, there needs to be accessibility to resources to help me cross that bridge.

And we do all of that.

We not only provide the opportunity but we provide accessibility.

We provide the resources through the generosity of those who believe in our vision to help those students cross that bridge that we have been so grateful to create for the students.

- I remember the exact day that I met Alex Harris.

We walked into the Royal Theater and there was Alex Harris, big as life and I'll never forget, he just was an amazing presence and I knew right away just chatting with him and what his visions was in the south side of St. Petersburg to finish middle school and high school and go on to college with the support of the arts.

I look back on the 10 years of what Alex has created, the number of students who might have run into a dead end, act was their opportunity to continue to pursue their dream, to go to college to attend college through the arts.

So it's an extraordinary program and one that resonates with a whole lot of young people today.

He's a great inspiration and a role model.

- My experience in this program has been amazing.

I have been open to many new genres and I've met many new people and teachers as well.

I've grown as an artist and I'm just so excited to return to college with all the things that I've learned.

- My experience in ACT has been amazing.

We've gotten to learn from people who have been in Broadway about acting, dancing, and singing.

- 100% of our students throughout the past, almost 11 years have graduated from high school with a diploma.

90% of our students have gone on to higher education institutions, college, universities, trade schools.

(upbeat music) - When you're involved in the Arts Conservatory for Teens, you might be a dancer, but you also might be a videographer.

You might be working on set design, you might be working on clothing design and so you realize the number of people that are involved in creating this business of the arts.

Alex is able to harness all of that to bring it all together and the impact that he has had through the Arts Conservatory for Teens and the inspiration and the perspiration that he has brought to this.

And Alex Harris, I believe is one of the greatest creators at St. Petersburg in the Tampa Bay area has ever seen.

- I said that change is gonna come.

So help us all the way, yeah.

- [Speaker] I'll never forget when the first time I heard Alex sing, Sam Cooke's "Change is Going to Come."

♪ Change is going come yeah ♪ - And you'll recognize the passion that Alex brings and its infectious.

- With great community and family and it doesn't have to be biological family but those who believe, those who love, those who support you, genuinely you can achieve and be the best human being that you can be.

At the end of the day, we want those young people who have participated and those who continue to participate today and will participate in the future to understand their sense of worth.

♪ When the world is going wrong we stay strong ♪ ♪ I've got you ♪ - It's about what I'm doing with my gifts beyond the stage.

Lifting up the consciousness of humanity to raise our human vibrations to vibrate really strongly and really loudly amplify hope, love, and peace for all.

♪ 'Cause baby I got you ♪ (upbeat music) - [Host] To learn more, visit artsconservatoryforteens.org.