Q&A With Private Sumpter
Life is a composition of many thing: family, love, opportunity, loss, redemption and relationships to name a few. LEAD is all those things and many more. When youth enter our programs, they don’t just become members of an organization, they become members of the LEAD family. We become mentors and sponsors to them and partners with their family and network of support. We all become a tribe.
In 2017, providence led us to connect with D’Zayvias Sumpter at B.E.S.T. Academy High School. Our co-founder/Chief Empowerment Officer (CEO), C.J. Stewart was there recruiting, and D’Zayvias expressed an interest in LEAD while also taking a risk by sharing his family’s situation with CJ. His family was homeless, and he wanted to know how being a part of LEAD was going to help him and his family live a better life. That type of vulnerability took courage, and CJ knew instantly that D’Zayias indeed had the heart of an Ambassador.
Through resources and relationships, we were able to assist D’Zayvias’ family with some of their immediate needs. Life began to take on new meaning for him, and he began to seriously think about crafting out his future. Our role at LEAD is to develop MAJOR LEAGUE CITIZENS out of boys and young men whom society deem counted out. By providing them with the right support, our Ambassadors are able to catch their breaths, be kids and dream.
D’Zayvias decided that the military was where his dream life would begin. After graduating out of summer school from Crim High School in 2018, he enlisted into the Marines. He is now known as Private Sumpter.