- [Narrator] This original WSRE presentation is made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.

(upbeat music) - Hello everyone, I'm Rameca Vincent Leary and welcome to this edition of Pensacola State Today.

Here's a challenging question.

Have you ever thought of applying for a PSC scholarship?

With over 200 options available, the possibilities are endless.

So why not take that first step?

During this special edition of Pensacola State Today, we're going to highlight two of those scholarships.

The African-American Memorial Endowment and Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship.

We'll take you on a journey to our 2020 scholarship banquet that honored those recipients and culminate with our special recognition for 2021 awardees.

So the main point is that these students took that first step.

Who knows?

You could be next.

To get the conversation started.

I'm happy to welcome Dr. Ed Meadows, President of Pensacola State College.

He's joined by Andrea Krieger, Executive Director of Institutional Development.

Welcome to both of you.

- [Ed] Thank you, Dr. Leary.

- Thank you.

- Dr. Meadows, let's start with you.

Of course, we have a lot of scholarships that go un-awarded each year.

Thus, we stress that people apply, right?

- Dr. Leary, the only thing worse than not having enough scholarships is not having enough students applying for those scholarships, to take advantage of what we do have.

And we have a very simple process where, the student, perspective student or student, can apply online.

And according to the information that they provide in that application, our computer software, automatically, registers them for eligibility for any or all scholarships.

And there may be more than one scholarship that they could be eligible to receive.

And so, you know, we encourage our current students and our prospective students to complete the FASFA, to apply for admission.

- Exactly.

- And once you've applied for admission, to apply for a scholarship at the Pensacola State College.

- Andrea, and it's a blanket application, isn't it?

- It is and it's so easy.

I mean, literally, they don't have to apply for the 280 scholarships that are at the foundation.

They just have to apply one time.

And just like you said and just like Dr. Meadows says, it matches them automatically to the ones that they qualify for.

And what's really important is that donors want to support them.

The dollars are there ready for them, they just to apply.

- Now, we're going to talk about our two special scholarships in just a moment, but, remember, I said I'm going to take you back to the 2020 scholarship banquet.

And in doing so, Dr. Meadows, you may remember this.

We had lights out, we opened up the 2020 banquet and we want you to see what happens next.

(drums rolling) (feet shuffling) ♪ Oh, Omega ♪ ♪ I will jump ♪ ♪ Unto the highest mountain ♪ ♪ I will swim across that deep blue sea ♪ ♪ Just so that I can be ♪ - [Boys] And be what?

♪ Be an Omega Man ♪ ♪ I will jump ♪ ♪ Jump unto the highest mountain ♪ ♪ I will swim a backstroke across the deep blue sea ♪ ♪ Just so ♪ ♪ Just so that I can be ♪ ♪ Be what ♪ ♪ Be an Omega man ♪ ♪ I will jump, jump unto the highest mountain ♪ ♪ I will swim a backstroke across the deep blue sea ♪ ♪ Just so ♪ ♪ Just so that I can be ♪ ♪ Be what ♪ ♪ Be an Omega man ♪ ♪ I will jump, jump ♪ ♪ Aye, aye ♪ (audience claps) - You just saw the Pensacola chapter of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

Dr. Meadows, I was standing right by the stage that night and I saw you seated on the stage.

I could see the stage grumbling a little bit.

Your thoughts?

- My thoughts were I hope that these young people are in really good sync because the waving motion of the stage, if it got in rhythm, we'd be okay.

But if they were not in sync, that may not be the case.

- Exactly.

So, Andrea, we're going to talk now about these two specific scholarships, African-American Memorial Endowment and the Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream scholarships, so take it away.

- Sure, absolutely.

Well, two very important scholarships for us.

The first one, we established the African-American Memorial Endowment scholarship in, actually, 1997.

And when that scholarship was initiated, $1,000 was donated for it and we had $1,000 match.

So it started with $2,000.

Today, that scholarship has over $55,000 endowed.

Well, that's important, but it's not near as impressive as what's happened with the continuing donations that have come in, because we've had 111 students who've benefited from that scholarship and almost $37,000 in scholarship awards from it.

So we are close, we're reaching up to almost what was endowed in that scholarship in awards that have gone out from earnings.

The second one, the Dr. Garrett T Wiggins Live Your Dream scholarship, is just as important, but it's different.

It's not endowed, it's a scholarship, but it honors Dr. Wiggins for his impact that he had.

So if you think about Booker T. Washington High School is what we think about in town, but there was a Booker T. Washington Junior College.

And it was the longest serving junior college from 1949, when it started, until it merged with Pensacola Junior College in 1965.

Well, that scholarship, which honors Dr. Wiggins, who was an administrator there, since it started in 2005, over $40,000 in awards have gone out of that scholarship.

And 69 students have benefited so that they could live their dream.

And so when you think about it, it started with two very important scholarships and two very important initiatives, but it's truly the donors who have continued to contribute because they wanna support students.

And it's about giving students the opportunity to pursue a higher education.

- Spot on, we know Dr. Wiggins retired from PJC in 1969 and there's a picture of him in building seven.

- [Ed] Yes, there is.

- Very nice one.

I'd also like to share that the Black History Multicultural Committee really works hard with the scholarship banquet.

We didn't have one this year.

Dr. Tony Anderson still is really a major component to all of this.

She is the chair.

What we're gonna do is take you back to the 2020 banquet for just a moment because she's introducing our speaker for the night.

His name is Rodney Jones, we'll talk about him a little bit later, but listen to the creative words that she has to say.

- [Dr. Toni] Well, good evening, everyone.

Good evening to you.

- Good evening.

- I need to clear up something.

Apparently, in the community, my assignment is to introduce Rodney Jones.

And since I'm having to do it so often, I want him to know I'm sending an invoice, okay?

- Dr. Meadows, you were right there.

And when heard the word invoice, several thoughts were running through my head.

But we know the speaker, Rodney Jones, founder of New World Believers, such a powerful man.

What an interesting life story.

So we're going to highlight a little bit of what he said, right now, during that banquet.

- One cannot determine where he is born, geographically.

One cannot determine who he is born to, his family of origin.

And most definitely, one cannot determine the socioeconomic status that he or she is born into.

But you do not have to allow how you started to dictate how you finish.

So that's where I'm at.

I found myself growing up living and matriculating in the bowels of poverty.

I grew up poor, probably like a lot of you out here, but unfortunately for me, I allowed my circumstance and my situation to dictate my path.

To push me in a particular direction.

I mean, the place that I lived encapsulated me to a degree that it paralyzed me and I thought I could never escape poverty.

In fact, the family that I was born into, it dictated me to a degree that I followed their path.

And you know what?

Every black male in my generation, in my family, has either been to prison or jail.

- So impacting.

Andrea, when I listen to those words, I hear from many scholarship recipients that have similar stories.

I know you have too.

- Absolutely.

And one of the things that's always so powerful to me about the scholarship students and their thank you's, they're not thanking folks for money, they're thanking them for believing in them.

And so, so often that's what it takes.

The students are working their own way out of poverty and out of a bad situation by choosing to pursue education.

But just having somebody believe in them makes a huge difference.

- Dr. Meadows, let's talk about mentorship, and being PSC faculty myself in the Business Department, I have many students whom I still mentor.

Many of the volunteers that have helped me along the way.

So if you were to give anyone out there watching, that's thinking about applying for a PSC scholarship, what would you tell them right now?

- Well, I think, historically, Pensacola State has been known as a caring college, where the faculty will learn who you are.

They will do everything that they can to help you be successful.

Our staff, they get involved in making sure that the obstacles to education, to the extent possible, are taken away.

Those roadblocks that occur.

And even, in some instances, we have faculty and staff that give out of their pocket to students, to help them get past some of those roadblocks.

So rest assured, if you come to Pensacola State, we will know who you are.

We will live the dream with you to help you get to where you can be and to where you can have a better life and a better life for your family.

- Thank you, Dr. Meadows.

Andrea, have we ever had a student come back and maybe endow a particular scholarship?

Let's talk about that.

- We have, we definitely have.

This is a beloved institution and students who come here, they want to pay it forward.

Even when they're getting scholarships, and some of the interviews that we've had with students or when they thank their donors, they've talked about their desire to come back and do what our donors have done for them.

And it plays forward every time.

They look for ways to pay it forward.

We actually did a campaign this past year about paying it forward, for that very reason because we've had students come back and endow a scholarship for other students.

- And I will say this, some of my former students have paid it forward in monumental ways.

Giving back, right?

Just giving back.

And as you said, Dr. Meadows, a kind word, a simple gesture, things like that really go the long run, don't they?

- Well, you know, you've got to admit that when you're unsure of your future and you have someone that embraces you and says I think you can do it, I'll help you do it, you meet me halfway and we'll go the road together.

That gives people encouragement.

It gives them the motivation that they need.

Oftentimes, life gets in the way and there aren't words to express the hardship that some of our students have undergone lately, through the pandemic and through Sally.

And yet, we're that beacon of light for so many.

And we hope to continue that and with the assistance of people that believe in our institution and believe in our students, that they can be successful.

They'll continue to provide scholarship support.

I would love to see a campaign to actually endow the Garrett T. Wiggins scholarship.

That would be, I think, something amazing to occur over the next several years.

- And we'll definitely see what the future holds.

well said, both of you, thank you so very much.

So folks, as we head to break, we want to take you back to the 2020 scholarship banquet and share the inspirational sounds of Legacy Worship League singing Hezekiah Walker's Souled Out.

We'll be back in a moment.

♪ Now I'm free from sin ♪ ♪ So I'm souled out ♪ ♪ I am souled out ♪ ♪ That's right and my mind ♪ ♪ My mind is made up ♪ ♪ I'm souled out ♪ ♪ I am souled out ♪ - [Man] Are y'all souled out tonight, sing along with me.

♪ My mind is made up ♪ - That's right.

I come through the fire.

♪ I come through the fire, I come through the rain ♪ ♪ But God ♪ ♪ But God ♪ ♪ He never ♪ ♪ He never left my side ♪ ♪ He's my comfort through all the hurt and pain ♪ ♪ I am souled out ♪ - It's all right to be souled out, y'all.

Make up your mind.

♪ I am souled out ♪ - That's right, I'm souled out, sing with me fellas.

♪ I am souled out ♪ - All the ladies in the room, sing with, I'm souled out.

♪ I am souled out ♪ - [Man] All the children, let me hear you say souled out.

♪ I am souled out ♪ - All the singers, y'all can sing, come on, souled out!

♪ I am souled out ♪ - [Man] Everybody in the middle, with me, souled out!

♪ I am souled out ♪ - [Man] Come on now, it's okay to get souled out!

♪ I am souled out ♪ - Yeah, I'm glad I'm souled out.

♪ I am souled out ♪ - [Man] Come on y'all, sing with me, I'm souled out!

♪ I am souled out ♪ - Dr. Leary, where you at, are you souled out?

♪ I am souled out ♪ - [Man] Dr. Tony, are you souled out?

♪ I am souled out ♪ - Hello everyone.

During this segment, we'll explore what's happening with two 2020 scholarship recipients.

I'm psyched because I know we're gonna be wowed by what we hear.

Without further ado, I'll be sharing 2020 highlights from Alvin Gordon, an African American Memorial Endowment Scholarship recipient.

And on set, we have Shanel Gainey, who received the Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship.

Now, as I think back to the 2020 scholarship banquet, I can't help but remember how excited you were, Shanel.

Am I right?

- You are correct.

I was very excited and gratitude across the board.

It was such an amazing experience to receive the scholarship.

- Now, you know I mentioned Alvin Gordon.

Now he, the angel recipient and very distinguished gentleman that he is, had a little something special to add to the mix as he graced the stage.

Let's take a look.

- [Woman] He walks awesome.

Just he walks awesome, he has that awesome walk about him.

You got to love a person that knows how to take his steps.

- Good evening, Alvin.

You're looking mighty dapper.

Almost as good as me.

(crowd laughs) And that's all right.

You seem to be a shining star.

Do you have any encouraging words for those students out here?

- I'll say, keep God first, in all you do.

And keep the right people around you cause that's gonna dictate your future.

- Yes, indeed.

Very inspiring words.

And Alvin is not physically with us on set right now, but he passed his nursing exam, update 2021, and he has a very good job at a reputable hospital in Pensacola, Florida.

Doesn't that sound good?

- That sounds amazing.

I'm so excited and happy for not only him, but all of my fellow classmates.

- Now let's talk about you because we're gonna dig at some footage from 2020, as it refers to you, but talk about your family.

You're from a military background, aren't you?

- I am, I'm actually an air force brat.

My father did about 26 years in the air force, but I am a Navy spouse and we are celebrating 11 years my husband has been a sailor with the United States Navy.

- Congratulations, and a little FYI, my dad's a retired Navy.

He was a nuke, he was in the service for 31 years.

Retired as an E-9 Master Chief.

Hi dad.

(laughing) You say hi to your husband, right?

- Hi, hubby.

- And your children.

- Hi Corbin, hi Chloe.

- Let's get that word out.

So, Shanel, let's take a look at you from the 2020 scholarship banquet.

Now you are looking lovely in your outfit.

Now, Shanel, nursing is a very popular program here at PSC.

Tell us about your journey in the program.

- I am almost done.

I'm in preceptorship right now.

I'm precepting in cardiac care at Sacred, which is not my end goal, but it's a great learning experience.

I aspire to be a postpartum nurse and the layman's terms is mother baby.

I've been a nurturer all my life, so I would love to provide my skill and expertise in nurturing to my mothers and my babies.

- All right, all right.

Shanel, what is happening now in your world?

- What is happening now?

So I am trying to get acclimated, as everyone else is, with the pandemic, but what I'm doing right now is I'm currently working with a local agency and I'm doing home health care.

And I am currently still studying for my board exam.

When the pandemic hit and the schools were canceled, I have two small children.

My spouse was deployed, so I had to stay at home while they did virtual learning, but I am still maintaining my skills.

I am still doing my two hours, study power hours every morning.

And also, nursing school inspired me to actually become a small business owner for planner stickers.

If you see a nursing student's planner or calendar, it has exams and study time all over it.

So that was one of the small short-term goals that I was able to accomplish at this time.

- Bravo.

Do you have anyone in particular, right now, that you would like to name, who has inspired you throughout this journey?

And as you said, it has not been easy.

- It has not been easy.

My motivation definitely came from family members.

My father has two siblings and one sibling is a sister.

My aunt Linda was a nurse midwife for 30 plus years, graduated nursing school in 1973.

She has two daughters, her only two daughters, and both of them are nurses as well.

So I found that motivation and that drive from them to just definitely speak to myself, like this is my calling.

I have a passion to serve.

I have a nurturing bug and so it just fits.

So that was my motivation for pressing through nursing school.

- You also sat through our guest speaker 2020 and that was Rodney Jones, founder of New World Believers.

Let's listen to another clip from him.

- I thought that because I had nothing, I had to do anything to get something.

Unfortunately, there is a psychological effect on individuals who grow up in the bowels of poverty.

People who come from below the poverty line, there is an effect on them.

Some might call it PTSD.

We find ourselves in a particular place where, in our mind, we feel that there's nothing for us and there's nowhere we can go, so it is our resolve to remain where we are.

We've got to break that.

We've got to break that cycle.

- That's right, Rodney Jones.

When I hear those words, break that cycle, Shanel.

Let's talk about securing habits, things that we do every day.

Sometimes people wake up at the same time.

Maybe they'll go to some place that they'll eat breakfast or maybe they'll read a book.

Habits are so important, but we want to have good ones, right?

- [Shanel] Correct.

- [Dr. Leary] What about his words?

Anything in particular, from what he said, did anything just jog your memory and give you thoughts about your journey as a student in our nursing program?

- Yes.

When he spoke, I was front and center.

I was in the first row, maybe right in front of him, and I was just intrigued by everything he said, especially breaking those certain cycles and changing gears.

Not becoming what you come from, but becoming something better and different.

And to lead by example.

I came from a single parent household.

I did not come from poverty, but I saw the struggle and stress that my mom had with taking care of three children.

So I boosted myself up and said, hey, if certain people can come from the bottom and climb the mountain top to get to the highest point, then you can too.

So I try to live by that every day.

I'm a journaler, so I always try to write down affirmations and motivate myself, and say those things to myself daily.

That's one of my routines that I stick by every day.

- [Dr. Leary] Love it.

Now, when you found out you were a Wiggins recipient, back in 2020, what was your first thought?

- My first thought was like, yes!

I'm going to be able to complete this goal of mine.

I have been awarded this scholarship and it is going to be one of those things to where it's gonna open a door, a level of opportunity that I may not have been able to do on my own, without the scholarship.

So I was able to finish the REM program at Pensacola State College by way of this scholarship, and I always say in gratitude.

If it had not have been for that award, I may have had to stop, but it allowed me to keep going and I reached my goal.

- Have you encouraged anyone else to apply for a Pensacola State Scholarship?

- Oh yes, being a military spouse, I'm not as old, but you have younger spouses that I interact with on the base and they talk about being a nurse, becoming a nurse and going to Pensacola State College.

And I always tell them, listen, you have to, have to, have to take them up on this opportunity.

If you don't apply, you'll never know if you'll get it or not.

Go out there.

Get these resources that'll help you reach that career goal.

Go apply.

I even sometimes get their numbers and email them the link to the scholarships directly.

Don't even go to the website and Google, here's the scholarship link.

Apply for everything you see, especially the Dr. Wiggins scholarship.

- Shanel, I really like your style because I also urge my students in the Business Department to apply, apply, apply.

And some people have a misconception that they only look at a GPA.

No, much more than that.

Why don't you expand on that?

- So I say this, you never know the answer until you go out there and try.

Don't let anything discourage you.

Sometimes it may be a period in a person's life where they just didn't have the time to study, especially re-entering adults into college.

And maybe one or two C's here and there that lowered the GPA, but don't let that define you.

Don't let these criterias and recommendations define you.

Just apply, just go out there and get it.

You can do it.

- Absolutely.

They'll look at your community involvement, your little essays that you need to write.

I've written many a scholarship recommendation letter for my students.

Love doing it.

And I know you're going to pay it forward in big ways.

You already are.

- Thank you so much.

And I always try to lead by example.

Reach one, teach one is what I used to hear as a child.

Reach one, teach one.

Teach one, reach one.

So if you don't spread the word and spread the opportunities no one will know of them.

And then you have to be a living testament.

Hey, I did it, I applied.

My GPA may not have been what was recommended, but guess what?

I got that congratulations, you are a winner email.

So you never know until you try.

- So here's a question for you.

- Sure.

- Two words that describe you, maybe two adjectives that describe you?

- I'll say dependable and driven.

- Love it, Shanel Gainey, thank you so much.

- Thank you so much, Dr. Leary.

- You're welcome.

All right, folks, as we head to break, get ready for another musical treat from Legacy Worship League.

This time they want to know if you're going up yonder in this soul-stirring performance.

♪ I'm going up yonder ♪ ♪ I'm going up yonder ♪ ♪ I'm going up yonder ♪ ♪ Going up yonder ♪ ♪ I'm going up yonder ♪ ♪ To be with my Lord ♪ ♪ Guess what ♪ ♪ I can take the pain ♪ ♪ The heartache that it brings ♪ ♪ The comfort that in knowing ♪ ♪ I'll soon be gone ♪ ♪ As my God, he gives me grace ♪ ♪ I know I'll successfully run this race ♪ ♪ Till I see my savior face to face ♪ - Hello, everyone.

During this segment, we're transitioning to 2021.

Now due to COVID 19, we didn't host a scholarship banquet, but we were able to recognize our recipients in a special way.

We'll reveal them later in the show, but first we'd like to welcome a phenomenal man who assisted us in our efforts, Attorney Aaron Watson of the Watson Firm PLLC.

I'd also like to introduce Dr. John Woods, a faithful volunteer who's been a mover and motivator to those who have worked hard to make 2021 a spectacular experience.

Gentlemen, welcome to both of you.

- [Watson] Thank you, glad to be here.

- Also glad to be in your presence.

Attorney Watson, let's start with you.

Son of a preacher.

- You got it.

- I like that.

(giggles) Love it, love it, love it.

Now are you a native of Pensacola?

- I am.

Went to middle school here.

Wasn't born here, but I mean, we practically grew up here.

Middle school, Wedgwood Middle School, Pine Forest High School.

Father was the pastor of a church, Inglewood Baptist Church here in town.

And so, we've been here for awhile.

- I heard, a little birdie told me, are you the choir director?

(laughs) Dr. Woods, I think I heard that.

Somebody told me that.

- Well, I'll tell you that we, my entire family, we sing and we have a bunch of preachers in the family.

My brother is a preacher, mother is a preacher, sister is a preacher.

There's a bunch of singers and preachers.

I do my singing and preaching in the courtroom.

- [Dr. Leary] Family history.

- Yeah, yeah.

- As I said before, 2021, due to COVID, we did not have a scholarship banquet and Attorney Watson and the Watson Firm donated the awards that our 2021 recipients received.

You'll see those a little later, all right, but still yet, you are a mover and shaker in the community but let me take you back to your National Championship in Trial Advocacy Award.

Remember that?

- Yeah, I do, I do.

You want me to tell you a little bit about it?

- [Dr. Leary] Yes, please.

- So, that award was, I'll never forget it.

I remember coming up in my dad's church.

I used to stutter a lot, scared to talk in public.

And I go to this law school and I remember asking my dad, I said, dad, we don't have lawyers in our family.

How am I gonna make it here?

And you go from the nervous kid to going and competing on behalf of your law school.

It's almost like a football team.

You go and compete against all these different schools, hundreds of them, and I beat every single student.

We actually had a courtroom trial and we had attorneys going to judge who's the best lawyer, who argued the best, who cross-examined the best.

I was never beat in that national competition.

This old boy from Pensacola.

Watching my dad preach and sing, it paid off and it still pays off in the courtroom today.

- Stetson College of Law.

We'll get to more of that in just a minute.

Now, Dr. Woods, your impression of everything you just heard, I know you're blown away.

- Oh, absolutely.

The first time I was able to hear Aaron Watson's story, I was just so inspired.

It was in 2016, out at University of West Florida.

He spoke out there in an event that I was helping out with and I said this guy needs to be heard by a lot of other people.

And just his educational journey, that's what impressed me so much.

His drive to get the education that he wanted and not letting those roadblocks get in the way that could possibly be there.

- Now, Dr. Woods, you and I have to share a little bit of information here because with no scholarship banquet, one might wonder how are you going to incur or receive monies, right, for the students to receive scholarships.

So we had our 100 for 100 campaign and a group of 10 illustrious volunteers, and long story short, the goal was to have 100 people garner 100 each for a total of, what, $10,000.

- $10,000.

- 100 for 100.

And we are happy to report today, hot off the press, that we met and exceeded that $10,000 goal.

13,000 plus dollars.

- Awesome.

- All the hard work of our volunteers.

Some of them, and I'm gonna mention a few of their names, now you'll share as well.

Trace Brown, Verona Hutchinson, Jonathan Stallworth, Dan Frisbee, Michelle Jones, right?

Few others that you can recall.

- Yeah, well, Trace Brown and Dan Frisbee were the two that I was most involved with, but you had Jonathan that we talked to.

And those were individuals that we dealt with, sometimes on a week.

- And what we did is we held Zoom volunteer meetings.

(laughing) Attorney Watson.

So Tawana English, Brian Sutton, Kaleah Williams, just to round out that list, but we met via Zoom.

- We did.

- We strategized, we had to think outside the box, because as you mentioned, we have COVID and then you think about Hurricane Sally.

We had to reach outside of the Pensacola area.

Takes a lot of work, doesn't it?

But we are so glad because we're definitely a PSC family.

And then having you, as that award sponsor, was literally the icing on the cake.

- Glad to do it.

- Attorney Watson.

We know that Dr. Meadows presented you with a special gift and he was just beaming from ear to ear when you were up there on that platform, a little later on, when you took some pictures.

Let's get back to you, okay.

Your educational background, we know Stetson College of Law.

Tell us where that is, specifically.

- That's in St. Petersburg.

There's a campus in Tampa as well.

One of the reasons it stood out to me, it's ranked the number one school in the country for trial advocacy.

And so, if you want to be a trial lawyer, you wanna go and advocate in the courtroom, there is no better school.

And to be selected, to be on their trial team, means that they hand selected you to go and represent the number one school in the country.

And so, it definitely was an honor and a privilege to go there.

I sit on the board of directors there for the school now, probably one of the youngest people on the board.

I'm happy to support the university.

- Now you've been in a lot of print publications.

I have to say this, let me pause for a moment, Dr. Woods, the list goes on and on and on and on.

I go to the Watson Firm website.

Okay, this is a lot, but you are such a humble man.

Some people would have the biggest ego ever, but that is not Attorney Aaron Watson.

What keeps you grounded?

- You know what, I think being back in my hometown amongst the people I grew up with.

I still go to church and all the mothers in the church, they don't call me Attorney Watson.

Come here, boy, let me kiss your cheeks.

Being around my classmates.

I've represented my teachers, principals, you know?

Moving back to Pensacola, I'm amongst family and who goes to the family reunion, thinking that they're better than somebody else, you know?

And so, I attribute all of my success to the folks who invested in me.

And we talked about that and I heard you talk about it in the program.

One of my first scholarships was a Papa John's Scholarship.

It was like 300 bucks.

- All right.

- I submitted an essay and they selected me.

They invested in me, they believed in me.

And that's why these scholarships are so important.

Somebody patting you on the back and saying, you know what, I believe you, and you can do it, you know?

And so, being home, it's a wonderful thing.

- Yes, stellar.

Dr. Woods, you have done a lot of work in the community as well, the prison system.

You meet with a lot of veterans.

Tell us you do for veterans because all this ties in together.

Veterans can apply for PSC scholarships.

- Oh, absolutely.

- Let us dispel that myth.

- Absolutely, in fact, there's some scholarships here at Pensacola State College that are strictly for veterans.

That they apply for and that's who they go to.

And so, there's actually several that they can apply for.

One of them is with the organization that I work with, Veterans Upward Bound.

So we have some scholarships through there that they can apply for.

Even if they're getting the GI bill, they can still apply for the scholarships and still receive those.

And that may help with books or other things that they may need help with.

- Well said, now our 2020 scholarship speaker, Rodney Jones, the two of you are friends and have a nice background, having worked in the prison system together, right?

- Exactly.

And we did, and I was telling Attorney Watson, that Rodney and I had did some things with local youth, at risk youth, and that's how I kind of got to know him, doing that.

And then also with working with individuals that get out of prison.

- Yes.

- Once they get out, then-- - Re-entry.

- Exactly, re-entry type of program.

And then he had a program going on, that he would bring them into his program and help them with things like life skills and other things, to get integrated back into the community.

- Wonderful.

This guy, he's been my right hand man.

Been with me every step of the way.

Can't thank you enough.

Now let's talk about, I know that 2016 was a landmark year but before we get into the establishment of your law firm, let's talk a little bit about Fred Levin, Levin Papantonio Law Firm.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, Fred wrote a book while I was there practicing at his firm.

And I remember going into his office and asking him to sign my book.

And he put in the book, he said, Aaron Watson will be the next Fred Levin.

To have somebody like that sow that type of seed in you.

- Powerful.

- Say something like that about you.

I'll never forget it.

And that's why I say encouraging words to our youth is sometimes better than writing a check.

To have someone say, you know what?

You can be me.

And I remember when he walked into my office and said, Aaron, I want to personally mentor you.

I want you to come to trial with me.

And so, I learned how to try cases from him.

And I considered him to be one of the best in the country.

It's almost like Michael Jordan coming to you and you wanna play basketball and he says, I want to train you.

And so, I'll never forget Fred.

I was sad to hear of his passing, but I can tell you what, he lives on through a lot of lawyers throughout Pensacola, and, really, throughout the state of Florida.

A lot of these law firms you see here in town were birthed from his law firm.

- Now you were the first African-American shareholder of his law firm.

I know that's to be commended.

Let's get into your family life.

Your beautiful wife, Kimberly, your children, let's talk about that.

- Yeah, yeah.

So we have two boys, Houston and Gray.

It's Gray, G-R-A-Y.

And we have a little girl on the way, she's due in a few weeks.

Her name is gonna be Mia.

Kim would be here, but she's at home.

- Oh, we understand.

- Laying in the bed.

And so, the family's growing and I'm blessed to be able to sow into the future generation, hopefully of lawyers.

- Speaking of sowing, reaping and sowing, that is, Watson Family Foundation.

Folks, if you don't know this, there's a lot going on outside of a courtroom.

I'm talking about community endeavors, Watson Family Foundation.

Tell us about some of the things you've done.

- Yeah, no, for sure.

The idea for the foundation started, we would have people call our law firm.

I remember, specifically, there was a young lady who called the firm and said, hey, I'm parked behind your law firm and I've been sleeping here with my son for three or four days.

And we invited her to come up to the office and we helped her out, put her in a hotel, bought groceries.

And that wasn't the first, there was another and another and so.

We didn't advertise that we did anything like that.

They just came to us.

And so we wanted to put it out there, you know what, on our website for the Watson Family Foundation, it actually says, if you need help with poverty assistance, hunger assistance.

We want to put it out there so you can search and find us, as opposed to waiting back behind the law firm and hoping you get ahold of Attorney Watson.

My wife and I, we enjoy giving back.

My dad always taught me, it's blessed it to give.

I remember he would give the last dollar he had.

As a lawyer, if you asked me, well, Aaron, how are you so successful?

We give, we tithe, we give back.

Whether it be monetarily or through encouragement, we give back.

- [Dr. Leary] And we're sharing the foundation information for our viewers.

- For sure, thank you.

- Phenomenal.

Dr. Woods, some final thoughts, because we've covered quite a bit to this point in the show, but I know that you have mentored a lot of people.

You've helped so many people apply for scholarships by paying it forward.

Any encouraging words for anyone who's on the fence regarding applying for a PSC scholarship?

- Yeah, I would say that you need to take every opportunity that you can take.

And for all of us, and we've said this before, it takes a team to make the dream.

- [Dr. Leary] Love it!

- And that's all a part of it.

And applying for those scholarships, that's what that money's there for.

People donate that money for you to be able to go to school.

For you to be able to have that assistance.

So any of those roadblocks that are there will be taken down.

And if there's a financial roadblock, you won't have that financial roadblock there.

- Well said, the both of you, I could hear you for hours.

Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining me in this segment.

Good stuff all around.

Okay, folks, as we pause momentarily, we want to bring back Legacy Worship League, as they encourage us to lift every voice and sing.

Take a listen.

♪ Lift every voice and sing ♪ ♪ Till earth and heaven ring ♪ ♪ Ring with the harmonies of liberty ♪ ♪ Let our rejoicing rise ♪ ♪ High as the listening skies ♪ ♪ Let it resound loud as the rolling sea ♪ ♪ We have come over a way that with tears has been watered ♪ ♪ We have come ♪ ♪ Treading the path of the blood of the slaughtered ♪ ♪ Thou who has by thy might ♪ ♪ Led us into the light ♪ ♪ Keep us forever in the path, we pray ♪ (soft music) - Hello, everyone.

You just saw the smiling faces of our 2021 African-American Memorial Endowment and Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship recipients.

What an amazing honor.

There were 11 recipients total and during this segment, I have the pleasure of welcoming two of them right now.

I'm thrilled to introduce Keyaundra Mobley, a recipient of the AAMES Scholarship and Xavier Sapp, a Wiggins recipient.

I can definitely feel your excitement.

You all are over the moon with excitement, aren't you?

- [Keyaundra] Yes.

- Yes, yes, we are.

- Keyaundra, I'm gonna start with you.

A little bit of a backstory regarding you, you work here at the college.

Tell us about that.

- Oh, yeah, so I work in the office of Student Engagement and Leadership here for the college.

I started here back in November.

I was the President of the Student Government Association in my freshman year.

And so when they were like hey, we've got this position, will you fill it for us?

I did my interview process and I've been there ever since and it's been great, so.

- All right, we're gonna talk about your other educational elements a little bit later.

Now, Xavier, let me turn your way here.

Looking cleaner than the board of health, as my dad would say.

- Thank you.

- What is your major?

- My major is a branch of counseling off of psychology.

- [Dr. Leary] And how long have you been a student here at PSC?

- I've been a student here for two years.

- [Dr. Leary] All right, so what are your plans for the future?

- After I get my AA, I would like to go over to UWF and expand.

Later on in life, I'd like to get my own office and help people and counsel them.

- Now, let me share something with the viewers here.

A little earlier, these two took some great pictures with the other recipients.

I recall seeing you holding your awards, smiling from ear to ear.

You actually made a lot of new friends, as I understand.

And right in front of both of you, I can see your physical awards.

So Keyaundra is an AAMES recipient and, of course, Xavier as a Wiggins recipient.

Xavier, what was your first impression when you found out you won the scholarship?

- I was actually on a mission and I did not catch the phone call, but when I listened to the voicemail, which I don't regularly do, I about jumped out of my body because I said, wow, this is something that I-- I was expecting this.

It was a great honor.

So I'm glad to be here tonight.

- I know when I spoke with you the first time, you had that energetic vibe going.

I said this guy is really going places.

I know that you are.

What about you, Keyaundra?

What was your first thought when you found out about the scholarship?

- I was shocked.

I was like oh, I'm so honored to receive the award.

I was actually going on to the scholarship homepage PSC has and I was checking, I was like maybe I got one.

And then there it was and I instantly wrote my thank you letter.

I was so happy.

I couldn't believe it, so yeah.

- Let's talk about your plans for the future.

What you're studying and what you would like to do going forward.

- So, currently, here at PSE, I am studying general studies and then I plan to transfer to UWF this summer where I will start studying legal studies and political science and I plan to become an attorney.

- All right, we might have to get you that close connection with our attorney, Aaron Watson, right?

So networking, networking.

Would you like to stay in the State of Florida?

- Yes.

I would like to stay in the State of Florida, hopefully branch out.

I do want to eventually run for a Senator position here in Florida or house of representatives.

- All right, keep that dream alive.

Xavier.

I know, like you said, the sky's the limit.

We realize that, but when you're planning these things, there are people that help you along the way.

They give you that extra push.

Maybe you didn't wanna get out of the bed on a certain day and somebody knocked on the door and said, you better get up.

So, let's talk about the people that have encouraged you.

- I have my family members, such as my mom, my pastor and my spiritual coworker, Dr. Prophetess Cecilia Paul and apostle designate, Jenny Abrams.

They have pushed me so much and, along with my mom, are really pushing me, even though I wouldn't see what the future would hold.

So, I thank them.

- With that said, I know, in your position that you have right now, with your goals and aspirations, do you have any brothers and sisters?

- Oh yes.

I got three brothers and three sisters.

- Now, when they look at what you have achieved right now, sometimes you hear the old saying, I want to be like Mike.

Do they ever say oh, I want to be like Xavier.

- I've never heard that, but behind closed doors, I never know what they would say.

- That's the truth.

Keyaundra, as I think back, even to my college days, and how, I'll be honest with you, I was a struggling college student.

I received numerous scholarships though, but sometimes we just have these rough patches, don't we?

Where there's a lot on us.

So, in your circumstance, with your educational journey, tell us about individuals that have helped you, even when you felt or maybe woke up one day and said, I don't know if I can finish the course, but I know that I will.

- I would say the people who've helped me the most have been my parents, of course, but one in particular here at PSC, I had a professor, Mr. Newman, he reached out to me.

There was one day when I had done terribly on a test.

And he's like Keyaundra, I know you got this.

You are a great student.

And those words have stuck with me to this day and they continue to push me, that he saw that I could go on to do more.

I would even say that people who continue to push me have been high school teachers who I've still been in contact with, my dad being a teacher, and they're continuing to push me every day, so yeah.

- Xavier, community involvement.

Do you participate in any extracurricular activities or mentor other students, people in the community as well?

- Not here in the college, but you did mention community.

I do meet people every now and then and just talk things out, training myself for counseling.

Of all ages.

So I help other people and talk them through, help them through the situations.

- I have heard Keyaundra, really from a lot of my former students.

During the picture-taking ceremony, we had 10 volunteers, eight of whom were my former students that decided to pay it forward and help us with our 100 for 100 campaign.

So there are always so many ways to give back.

Right, Keyaundra?

I know of people that have received PSC scholarships and just like Andrea Krieger said during the first segment, there have been endowed scholarships set up by former PSC students.

As a budding attorney and maybe even taking a quote cue from Attorney Watson, that could be you, Keyaundra.

- Yes, that is my plan.

I would like to have my own real estate company in the future, called Keys To Your Future.

And I have also thought about having my own scholarship to give to students.

I was a recipient of the Miss Washington Pageant, where I received my actual first scholarship and I wanna give one to students to continue on their education and hopefully attend a state college because my experience here at PSC has been wonderful.

- Congratulations.

Oh, how I wish the two of you would have been at the 2020 scholarship banquet.

We didn't have it, but just to peak your interest a little bit, we had some of the best food ever at a scholarship banquet.

But I think that with everything that you're doing and the endeavors that you're going to be pursuing, you're gonna have plenty of opportunities to fellowship with us.

We know that the African-American Memorial Endowment Scholarship and Dr. Garrett T. Wiggins Live Your Dream Scholarship, those are just going to flourish.

When Andrea Krieger, in the first segment, mentioned how many were recipients, between the two, I was amazed, over the years.

And so the scholarship banquet has been going on for over 20 years.

Food, folks and fun, that's what we say.

You ever heard that expression?

Food folks and fun.

So, Keyaundra, back to you and what you're doing at the college.

Former Student Government Association President?

- [Keyaundra] Yes.

- That's a heavy load.

A lot on your shoulders.

Why don't you tell us a little bit about your duties?

- Okay, so my duties is I am the student body voice.

So we attend the national conference here, in the state of Florida, where they have FISCA, where we go and we propose new bills that we've talked about as an SGA here to our senators.

We got to talk to Senator Doug Bronson last year at the 2019 FISCA Conference we had in Tallahassee.

It was a great experience and I continue to bring back everything I learn to the college.

We have town halls here, we try to get students to engage and tell us what do you think we can do to help our campus improve and to bring more to our student life.

So.

- I think about suggestion boxes.

Have you ever rendered a good suggestion that maybe a professor or someone at the college has used, a great idea that maybe you came up with?

- Yes, so one of our greatest ideas has been to revamp our student government and how we do it.

And that has been to offer students the town hall, which that was something that we didn't do before, we'd just have a regular meeting.

And the town hall opened it to where more students could come in and they didn't have to be a part of SGA, but they could come in and listen to see what we're doing and maybe get engaged, which was a great feature that we added before COVID, that we are hoping to continue to impact along the way.

- Xavier, speaking of engagements, where you go out into the public, have you ever listened to a speaker?

Now, I know I played a few clips from Rodney Jones, the banquet speaker from 2020.

Listened to someone personally who has just impacted you to take a huge step at that moment, after having heard them?

- I have, my senior year of going to Milton High School, there was a teacher that had played a video in class and I can't remember who that speaker was, but that speaker really pushed me.

And it made me flourish into what I am now.

He talked about having the strength of your own, having the mind, your motives and everything, setting your stuff straight to what you want to do.

And my family did that as well.

It all piled up and I'm on that way.

- There are decisions that we must make, right, Keyaundra?

Some may say the road less traveled, hard decisions.

Are you going to stay on this academic path and succeed or fall by the wayside?

And I know that you would say no to that question, right?

- Yes, I would say no.

My goal is to keep pushing forward.

Every day is gonna bring its own challenges, but my parents have pushed me that we don't give up, We continue to bell it to the end.

My dad's a basketball coach, so I'm taught every day that if you don't try, you'll never succeed.

And that is something that I continue to push forward and I hope will get me to my doctorate degree one day, as I become an attorney.

- I do believe it will happen.

Xavier, some encouraging words for our viewers out there.

A lot of students I know are watching and they see you and they say, wow, they're so amazing.

Can I do it?

Yes, you can do it.

What would you say to them?

- I would tell them not to ever give up.

Scholarships are freely given, so freely receive.

The sky is the limit.

Live your dream.

Don't stop, no matter the obstacle that's in your way.

No matter who talks to you down, keep on going.

- Well said, both of you, thank you so much.

Everyone, as we close the show, I want to thank all of our guests for joining us.

I must say it's always a pleasure to honor our Pensacola State College students.

As a final note, for more information regarding the PSC Foundation, you can log onto foundation.pensacolastate.edu.

To find out more about what Attorney Aaron Watson is doing to help the community, log onto Watsonfamilyfoundation.com.

I'm Rameca Vincent Leary, thanks for watching.

And remember to keep it locked in right here on WSRE, PBS for the Gulf coast.

(upbeat music)