S.O. What! Success Stories Archives - Summer Owens S.O. What!

Article, General, Info, Info Article, life, Personal, resilience, speaking

Resilience Under Pressure: The Inspiring Story of Prima Jope

What Happens When Pressure Changes You? Some people experience pressure in ways that force them to grow earlier than expected. That was one of the things that stayed with me during my conversation with Prima Jope. As we talked, I kept thinking…

Article, Business/Entrepreneurship, College, Education, Events, friendship, General, Info, Info Article, life, Personal, resilience, the S.O. What! Foundation

Transformative Leadership and Breaking Barriers: The Journey of Rose Flenorl

What Does It Take to Break Barriers? Rose Flenorl’s story is a powerful example of transformative leadership in action. Growing up in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as the oldest of four, Rose was determined to make her mark. Her ambitious goal?…

Faith-centered leadership and community service

Article, family, friendship, General, Info, Info Article, life, Personal, resilience, speaking, the S.O. What! Foundation

A Life of Service, Faith, and Purpose: Cary E. Vaughn’s Inspiring Journey

A Story of Faith-Centered Leadership and Community Service Growing up in North Memphis, Cary Vaughn faced adversity early in life. Raised in the shadow of his father’s alcoholism and the pain of losing him at a young age, Cary could have…

Article, family, friendship, General, Info, Info Article, life, Personal, resilience, the S.O. What! Foundation

Leading With Faith and Responsibility: A Leadership Journey That Redefines Success

A Conversation That Makes You Think Some conversations leave you thinking, and that is exactly what happened during my recent S.O. What! Success Stories conversation with Mickell Lowery. Yes, he has the titles. Yes, he has built a strong…

Article, Business/Entrepreneurship, Events, General, Info, Info Article, life, Personal, resilience, the S.O. What! Foundation

Choosing Purpose and Resilience with Laurie Powell

Some conversations stay with me because they press on something I know many of us are working through, even if we don’t always say it out loud. My recent S.O. What! Success Stories conversation with Laurie Powell was one of those moments.…

motivational interview on overcoming obstacles - real life inspirational stories of success - Chanielle Talbird blog

Article, Events, friendship, General, Info, Info Article, life, Personal, resilience, the S.O. What! Foundation

From Teen Mom to Purpose-Driven Leader: A Success Journey That Redefines the Narrative

People love to label you by your lowest moment. Teen mom. Statistic. Setback. But when I sat down with Chanielle Talbird, I did not see a label. I saw leadership. And what stood out most in her teen mom success journey was not her…

Article, College, Education, Events, family, friendship, General, Info, life, Personal, relationships, speaking

Melissa Graham: S.O. What! Success Story

One thing I always tell my students is to talk to people. And something that almost always happens is you’ll find a lot that you have in common. Melissa Graham and I started talking because both of us have a passion for student success.…

Business/Entrepreneurship, College, Events, family, friendship, General, Info, life, relationships

Ekundayo Bandele: S.O. What! Success Story

When the artist becomes a businessman a beautiful creation and asset to a city is born. Ekundayo Bandele has always known he was an artist, a creator. Since I’ve lived in Memphis, I have heard his name and admired his work. Ekundayo Bandele…

College, Education, friendship, General, Info, life, Personal, relationships

Tim Ware: S.O. What! Success Story

Find your cheerleader. That was the closing advice given by the former athlete turned education leader, Tim Ware, in our interview. When we met over a decade ago, Tim Ware had started a school and today he leads another one just for young…

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