JAGrelease

FRANKFORT, Ky. (April 23, 1999) - One question weighed so heavily on the mind of a 15-year-old who was growing up on the streets of Atlanta that he remembers it as a turning point for him 17 years later when he talks to young people about their futures.

"What are you going to be when you grow up?"

That simple question that most young people are asked seemed inconceivable to Hasan Davis because he didn't think he had a future. With his juvenile record, and male relatives who were either in prison or killed in gang-related violence, he thought he would be dead before he became an adult.

At 15, Davis could not have envisioned himself as a grown man speaking to young people about their education, dreams and futures. Now 32 years old, Davis speaks to youth and trains other adults to work with young people as the director of Youth Empowerment Solutions, a Lexington organization.

Recently, Davis was the keynote speaker at the Jobs for Adult Graduates (JAG) conference for 16-23 year olds who have dropped out of high school. The conference at Berea College was sponsored by the Kentucky Department for Adult Education and Literacy and the JTPA Education Coordination branch, agencies of the Cabinet for Workforce Development.

The nine JAG programs statewide help high school dropouts get their high school diploma or GED and find employment. They also assist participants in getting further education or training to get a better job. JAG, which is funded with Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) funds, is affiliated with the national Jobs for America's Graduates program. Davis told the JAG participants to challenge themselves with goals and equip themselves to climb to the top of their personal mountains. He encourage them to stay on track with their education and dream big.

"Don't say, 'What can I be based on what I have and can do?" Think broad. The problem most people have is there is no mountain, they are living in the flatlands, " Davis said. "You can create for yourselves a future I believe it, and more importantly, I live it."

He asked the audience that same question that challenged him as a wayward teenager, "What are you going to be when you grow up? "

"A private investigator, " one young man said. "And maybe a marine biologist, " he added.

"Great" " said Davis. "Be both. You could be the person who discovers the Loch Ness monster." And he was serious because he believes anything is possible.

One look at Davis' scholastic history would have made anyone doubt that Davis would attain his dreams. He had a learning disability, had problems in school and dropped out of high school. Later he earned a GED and then went to Berea College where he had problems and was kicked out twice.

Eventually, Davis did graduate from Berea College with a Bachelor's Degree in Oral Communications. In fact, he graduated with honors and went on to earn a law degree from the University of Kentucky

"I made my redemption .the hard way, " Davis told the audience. "I've been in some very bad places and done some very bad things. I had to take responsibility for my mistakes and choices, and pay back. You can grow from the experiences."

One way he has tried to redeem those bad choices is by helping others climb their

mountains, he said. "I want to be known for what I did for someone, not for what I did to someone, " Davis said.

He credits his mother with standing by him during his struggles in life and emphasizing the importance of education in reaching his dreams. He is the first male in his family to go to college. His mother is working on a college degree and his sister will be graduating from Berea College in May.

Davis said that education pays in his life because it gave him a means to leave poverty and it has opened doors for him. Education has given him the confidence to take jobs and be creative, he said.

Davis uses his creativity and education to bring to life someone who has inspired him. Davis portrays a slave from Anderson County in a one-man play that he wrote. The man became a Union soldier and later the first adult black student at Berea College. Davis uses his life story and the story of this soldier to encourage people in their struggles.

Davis is passionate about helping troubled youth. Prior to establishing the Youth Empowerment Solutions, Davis was the director of the Youth Violence Prevention Task Force in Lexington. He said it is important for young people to know that there are adults who will stand by them and give them a second or third chance like he was given.

"There are a lot of things we can do and not count them (young people) out as a menace to society," Davis said.

The achievements he has made educationally give him the credibility that he need,s to talk to young people about bettering their lives, he said. "With my struggle they can see that there is hope. I am the lesson," he said.