Using his life as a model, music mogul Kevin Liles urged ambitious middle school students to consider STEM careers during a visit Thursday to Jackson State University as part of the Verizon Minority Male Makers Program.
Liles captivated students in the INNOVATE Center, trumpeting his four-part message about “Generation E” – education, engineering, entrepreneurship and empowerment.
Sounding philosophical, and at times instructive, Liles imparted wisdom to teenagers during his presentation in the H.T. Sampson Library.
“Life is not meant to be handed to you. Life is not just the four walls of a school. Life is every single day. If God gives you an opportunity to wake up, then you have to do something with your life,” said the businessman, who earned his first million dollars at age 17.
With African-American males greatly underrepresented in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), the Verizon-JSU initiative aims to develop life-changing careers. The National Science Foundation says African-American males make up just 3 percent of working scientists and engineers.
Beyond business, the Baltimore native is active in community and youth development. He’s also a philanthropist, crediting his success to studying electrical engineering at Morgan State University, which ultimately led him from becoming a music executive with Def Jam Recordings and Warner Music Group to forming his own company, KWL Management.
Jackson State is one of four leading Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the nation that received a grant from Verizon to help equip more than 700 minority middle school boys throughout the country with high-level skills, from 3D design to app development, with the assistance of the university’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology and College of Education and Human Development.
Dr. Evelyn Leggette, provost and senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs, said the occasion is important because promoting STEM is a critical investment in our nation’s future. “We are delighted to have Mr. Liles here to inspire our young people to become entrepreneurs,” she said. “The innovations of our youth will help impact future generations.”
That message was echoed by Verizon’s Jessica C. Thorpe, manager of corporate communications. She said the company is on a mission to invest in our youth, explaining why the company engaged a major figure such as Liles.
Thorpe shared with Blackburn youth the influential impact of Liles, who has worked with a number of big-name celebrities, including Beyoncé, D’Angelo, Jay Z, Trey Songz and Fetty Wap, just to name a few.
In discussing the challenges of getting young males involved in STEM, Liles said, “They don’t know the opportunities in STEM. When you say engineering, kids get scared. I tell them that I engineered my way to the top of Def Jam Records, to the top of my 300 Entertainment (music label), to the top of being a successful person and breaking the cycle in my family. I just hope to encourage them not to be afraid of the word ‘engineering,’ and hard work.”
He praised the collaboration between Blackburn, Verizon and JSU and listened as middle school students presented their apps to the audience. The ideas included a pothole locator that allows users to navigate around roadway cavities by generating information about the distance of the pothole, how long it takes to get to it, its depth and the direction to travel for steering away from potential damage or danger.
Meanwhile, CSET dean Richard Aló urged students to continue on the path toward STEM careers. “We have a tremendous program that will allow brilliant young men to graduate from high school and enter college for an even brighter future.”
Liles, who did interviews earlier with JSUTV and WJSU-FM, told students to “find your passion through education, and your empowerment through engineering. With all the things I did, I wanted to be the best. My STEM experience helped me.”
In addition, he said, “I learned from anybody I bumped into. You must continue to evolve, get educated every single day and first get to know yourself.”
He reminded students that practically everyone needs someone with STEM skills. “Understand that the people who created Google, Facebook and Def Jam were engineers,” he said.
