Summer Owens Juneteenth
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Why Honoring Juneteenth Matters

Yesterday, for the first time in history, Americans across the country honored Juneteenth as a national holiday. For years, many African Americans have celebrated the momentous occasion which commemorates the day in 1865 when former American…
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Turning a Positive HIV Diagnosis into a Positive Force for Change: LáDeia McNeal S.O. What! Success Story

When was the last time you had a challenging situation, but you were able to look at the bright side or make something good out of it? That’s usually easier said than done, but my friend, LáDeia McNeal does it beautifully.  After a positive…
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When Transforming Your Body Transforms Your Life, Almetria Turner’s S.O. What! Success Story

Can you imagine someone weighing nearly 300 pounds becoming one of your health and fitness role models? As a high school junior, a few of my friends and I skipped a couple of days of school (Shush, don’t tell anyone). We spent those days…
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Being a Mom is a Full-Time Job, Ashley Daniel’s S.O. What! Success Story

One thing I know for sure is that you never know what the future holds. When I met Ashley, Bradshaw at the time, we were college freshmen excited about serving on the Student Activities Council. By our sophomore year, we were both committee…
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One of the Most Emotional Interviews I’ve Done

I attended the University of Memphis on the Emerging Leaders Scholarship. It was a small group of us, and we learned a lot about leadership and grew together as young college students.  One of my special Emerging Leaders friends was Darci…
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One of My Awesome Former Student’s S.O. What! Success Story

One of the greatest honors of my life was when I was asked to create a course for the University of Memphis. After I received the Fogelman College of Business and Economics Outstanding Young Alumna Award, the Dean, Rajiv Grover, learned about…
Summer concludes sharing the lessons learned from her memoir with how to be successful in life.
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Persevere to the End

Today as I celebrate my 42nd birthday, I also reflect on my 15th birthday when an incident that happened so fast changed everything about my life. And made me question if I would be successful. What I learned in my journey, 26 years after…
Summer concludes sharing the lessons learned from her memoir with her five lessons from her life.
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10 years later. 5 More Life Lessons from My Story

Ten years ago, I shared my story and life lessons in my first book, Life After Birth: A Memoir of Survival and Success as a Teenage Mother. I had no idea then what would happen when I told it. A new chapter in my life started back then. And…
Summer shares her lessons on why single moms need to keep their dreams alive.
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Single Moms: Keep Your Dreams Alive

Single mothers out there, keep your dreams alive because God fulfills them. By the time I went to graduate school to study for my MBA, I had already achieved a lot in my career and life. Now, I wanted a relationship for myself and a father figure…