By d-mars.com News Provider
Project Still I Rise, Inc. (PSIR) is one of the few nonprofit Dallas-based organizations solely dedicated to helping youth in underserved areas pursue successful careers in a variety of disciplines, helping them unleash their full potential. Under the leadership of Executive Director Kevin Mondy, PSIR is continuing to equip and empower today’s youth for tomorrow’s opportunities through academic enrichment, skills development, mentorship, internships, and leadership development.
Q&A With Kevin Mondy:
Tell our readers about your background and what birthed Project Still I Rise. My experience growing up was unique. I grew up on a street with eight entrepreneurs. All had successful businesses, but I think only one had a college degree. Those businesses ranged from TV repair to insurance salesman. I think that helped shape my drive to start a business, having no idea it would be a nonprofit. After graduating college and working within the juvenile justice system, I was exposed and introduced to so many students who didn’t have what I had growing up; parents who could financially provide and HOPE. I saw HOPE and opportunity on my street growing up. I saw my father being one of the eight who had his own business, also learning what mentorship really was and what “It takes a village” truly means. Many of our young people in the system haven’t seen this. Desiring to close the gap between HOPE and opportunity, I founded Project Still I Rise, Inc.
Tell us about the partnership with Comerica Bank and how it’s helping to drive the purpose and mission of the organization. The partnership with Comerica Bank has been extremely valuable not only to Project Still I Rise but to the students and communities we serve. Prior to us establishing a partnership with Comerica Bank, we would talk to students about CEOs, presidents, and VPs of companies. Students would have a hard time believing us because they thought people with those titles were only on the news or in movies and didn’t exist because people with those titles don’t look like them and defiantly don’t visit the neighborhoods they live in. Comerica changed this narrative for our students, making it possible for students to gain access and meet part of the top ten percent in leadership within the company. Together, we have been able to implement innovative programs centered around financial education and STEM, winning multiple awards and receiving recognition.
What are your short- and long-term goals for the organization? Our short-term goals for Project Still I Rise include partnering and problem solving through our mission statement to equip and empower our youth for tomorrow. And long-term, we want to continue to inspire our youth so they are successful beyond high school and college, also coming back to contribute to this program that has helped them.
Is there a success story you want to share? This is almost an unfair question because there are so many. However, if I had to pick one it would be when we took a group of students to compete at the National Society of Black Engineers, coming in second place in the MATHCOUNTS competition. We didn’t take calculators because we didn’t have enough money to purchase one for all of the students. However, we came in second place. We applied for sponsorship with Comerica Bank, and they gave us funding to better prepare our students. And with their help, we competed the year after and won the regional competition in MATHCOUNTS and Robotics. We went on to defend that title at the national level to bring home the NSBE National Robotic Championship as well as placing 2nd in MATHCOUNTS. This was a first in Dallas’ history!
Talk about how you are seeing the youth living out the organization’s core values (collaboration, compassion, servant leadership, and stewardship) through your efforts? One of the ways we see our youth live out the organization’s core values is when they come back as a PSIR Alum, serving in different capacities within the organization. Recently we started a new arm of Project Still I Rise called the National Youth Chamber of Commerce. All the advisory board members are Project Still I Rise alumni students. During the height of the pandemic, our college students created virtual lessons based on their college majors for students to view. This gave thousands of students an opportunity to be introduced to a university, learn from a college student about a specific major or career path, and have their education and career questions answered. While other organizations were trying to figure out how to keep students engaged during the pandemic, Project Still I Rise did not have to look very far. We had the resources and skillsets within our organization willing and ready to serve.
What legacy do you hope this organization leaves? The legacy I would like Project Still I Rise to leave is that people will always know that it did everything it could to provide HOPE and create opportunities for students. One of my prayers is that when I leave this earth, a PSIR Alum is helping to lead the organization to new heights.
Though PSIR continues to receive numerous awards and recognitions, Kevin is most proud of how he, along with the sponsors, partners, leadership team, and PSIR Alums continues to successfully fulfill the organization’s mission after 20 years. There were so many organizations that started on this journey when they did, but they never quit. With funding or no funding, PSIR has been blessed to find a way to continue to serve our youth. “As I lead PSIR, I stand on one of my favorite quotes by Shirley Chisholm and Marian Wright reminding me that “Service is the rent we pay for living on this earth. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time.”
For more information about Project Still I Rise, Inc., please visit www.psir.org.
