PARENT OF SHAMEEK HARGRAVE
SCHOLARS PROGRAM ’16 | NORTHFIELD MOUNT HERNON ’20 | PRINCETON UNIVERSITY ’24
Before SEEDS entered our lives, Shameek’s educational experience was decent but left much more to be desired as he was an outlier in his public school environment. Although we did all we could to provide him with the best that was available to us, it was always clear that he was not necessarily in the best environment to foster his curiosity and ambition toward learning or nurture him socially.
At the time that we discovered SEEDS as a family, we were in a very transitional place that created a sense of extreme urgency to have Shameek placed in an educational experience that was conducive to his abilities. To make a long story short, we were moving back to New Jersey from Georgia after having moved there to provide Shameek with what we thought would be a better educational opportunity. After a year there, and some personal family challenges, we needed to return home in October, which was a month and a half into the school year.
Moving during the school year and having him transfer after school had already started was something I would have preferred to avoid because it made it extremely difficult to place Shameek in the best environment. As a result, he was placed in the least performing and most socially challenging school in the district. Shameek was promised a better placement for the following year – his 8th-grade year. However, I was desperate and, on a mission, to get him out of where he was. I began to search for better opportunities when I came across a promotion for an information session for SEEDS at our local library in East Orange but was quickly disheartened to see that I had missed the session by one day. I then went to the SEEDS website, and to my relief, there was another info session being held later in the week. I made the decision to attend, and when Sunday rolled around, Shameek and I attended.
It was extremely important for Shameek to participate in SEEDS because he embodied the type of student that SEEDS was created for and was in great need of the access and opportunity that the program provided.
Aside from our circumstances at the time, Shameek was (and still is) greatness, and he was not in an educational environment that had the tools, resources, or ability to nurture that. Even more, we did not have the socioeconomic status or means to obtain access to what he needed.
During the info session, we learned about SEEDS as an organization, its mission, the programs, and who qualified for their programs. It was a literal match made in heaven. SEEDS was describing my son and what my son needed. I knew that they understood his needs and were equipped to provide for him. We needed to be a part of this program so badly, and I truly believe that the life transition we were in and the challenges we were facing were all necessary so that Shameek would connect with SEEDS.
When the information session ended, I looked at my 12-year-old son and I told him that this was the very reason everything else was happening. It became crystal clear to me that this was all divine intervention. That was the tipping point for him.
Through SEEDS, I hoped that Shameek would learn and obtain everything that the program promised, such as access to a world that had been off-limits to us, preparation to navigate and exist in that world, access and invitation into that world, personal and professional leadership development to maintain in that world, and support every step of the way. This world I speak of was a world unfamiliar to all of us, but one in which Shameek truly belonged in. He was far greater than the world he was born into and didn’t belong in it. It was clear to me from the day Shameek was born that he was more than the circumstances he was born into.
I was able to recognize this in him because it had once been in me. Unfortunately, for me, there was no SEEDS at the time, and I became a prisoner of my circumstances and its limitations. Because of that, I could easily see the value that SEEDS was offering and the dire necessity to be a part of it.
SEEDS has been an absolute game-changer and an instrumental helping hand in Shameek’s life. God’s will coupled with our willingness and determination helped place Shameek on a new life path – one that he was absolutely destined to be on.
Shameek had come into this world through a 22-year-old mother-of-two, on welfare and Section 8, with no college education, and a 24-year-old father who dropped out of college, actively sold drugs, and struggled with his mother’s recent and very challenging Bipolar diagnosis.
That very same child is now a 20-year-old, wrapping up his sophomore year at Princeton University on a full scholarship, receives another annual scholarship from Lockheed Martin, is a professional tutor on campus, has an Asian best friend that comes and stays with us for weeks at a time, has traveled to Africa, became a member of a fraternity, has a network of peers, acquaintances, and associates throughout the world, played several sports, is no stranger to sacrifice, commits to his family and obligations, is a leader in every aspect of his life, doesn’t care what others think of him, is empathetic and compassionate, masculine and emotionally astute, walks in his own truth, is dedicated to being all that he can be while remaining humble and grateful every step of the way and so much more.
Shameek’s life, from those very humble beginnings, to what it is now, has been one of an absolute miracle; one of breaking generational chains, upward mobility, success, and one that is now blazing a new trail for his bloodline to come. That’s how Shameek’s life and educational opportunities have evolved because of his participation in and the commitment from SEEDS.
What I would like other parents to know is that SEEDS is the bridge between where your child is now and where you dream for your child to be. SEEDS is the key holder that will provide your child with access to previously locked doors, routes, and opportunities. SEEDS is that one significant factor that can immediately, in real-time, take that dream you have and turn it into an absolute reality. SEEDS is not just access to better education. SEEDS is a holistic life transformation. SEEDS will benefit and impact not only your child’s life, but it will also evolve you as a parent and a person if you allow it, and are willing to partner with and trust SEEDS as they guide you throughout the journey.