S.O. What! Success Stories Archives - Summer Owens S.O. What! https://summerowens.com/tag/s-o-what-success-stories/ S.O. What! Sun, 10 May 2026 16:17:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.5 https://i0.wp.com/summerowens.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/cropped-Summer-Owens-S.O.-What.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 S.O. What! Success Stories Archives - Summer Owens S.O. What! https://summerowens.com/tag/s-o-what-success-stories/ 32 32 152051023 Resilience Under Pressure: The Inspiring Story of Prima Jope https://summerowens.com/resilience-under-pressure-prima-jope/ https://summerowens.com/resilience-under-pressure-prima-jope/#respond Mon, 11 May 2026 11:00:01 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=24859 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 about how many people are carrying responsibilities they never planned for while still […]

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]]> https://summerowens.com/resilience-under-pressure-prima-jope/feed/ 0 24859 Transformative Leadership and Breaking Barriers: The Journey of Rose Flenorl https://summerowens.com/transformative-leadership-and-breaking-barriers-rose-flenorl-journey/ https://summerowens.com/transformative-leadership-and-breaking-barriers-rose-flenorl-journey/#respond Mon, 27 Apr 2026 10:00:18 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=24852 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? To become the first African American woman inducted into the Ole Miss Student Hall of Fame. […]

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]]> https://summerowens.com/transformative-leadership-and-breaking-barriers-rose-flenorl-journey/feed/ 0 24852 A Life of Service, Faith, and Purpose: Cary E. Vaughn’s Inspiring Journey https://summerowens.com/faith-centered-leadership-and-community-service-cary-vaughn-journey/ https://summerowens.com/faith-centered-leadership-and-community-service-cary-vaughn-journey/#respond Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:30:50 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=24845 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 allowed these challenges to define his life. But instead, they became the driving force […]

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]]> https://summerowens.com/faith-centered-leadership-and-community-service-cary-vaughn-journey/feed/ 0 24845 Leading With Faith and Responsibility: A Leadership Journey That Redefines Success https://summerowens.com/leading-with-faith-and-responsibility-leadership-journey/ https://summerowens.com/leading-with-faith-and-responsibility-leadership-journey/#respond Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:00:45 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=24829 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 and credible career across corporate America and public service. But what stood out to me most […]

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]]> https://summerowens.com/leading-with-faith-and-responsibility-leadership-journey/feed/ 0 24829 Choosing Purpose and Resilience with Laurie Powell https://summerowens.com/laurie-powell-leadership-resilience/ https://summerowens.com/laurie-powell-leadership-resilience/#respond Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:00:28 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=24818 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. It made me think about what leadership really looks like when things feel […]

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]]> https://summerowens.com/laurie-powell-leadership-resilience/feed/ 0 24818 From Teen Mom to Purpose-Driven Leader: A Success Journey That Redefines the Narrative https://summerowens.com/chanielle-talbird-teen-mom-success-journey/ https://summerowens.com/chanielle-talbird-teen-mom-success-journey/#respond Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:00:33 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=24805 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 brand, her books, or her growing influence in Memphis. It was […]

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]]> https://summerowens.com/chanielle-talbird-teen-mom-success-journey/feed/ 0 24805 Melissa Graham: S.O. What! Success Story https://summerowens.com/melissa-graham-so-what-success-story/ https://summerowens.com/melissa-graham-so-what-success-story/#respond Mon, 16 Jan 2023 06:00:59 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=23202 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. But not only did we learn she had an emotional story of being […]

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]]> https://summerowens.com/melissa-graham-so-what-success-story/feed/ 0 23202 Ekundayo Bandele: S.O. What! Success Story https://summerowens.com/ekundayo-bandele-s-o-what-success-story/ https://summerowens.com/ekundayo-bandele-s-o-what-success-story/#respond Sun, 16 Oct 2022 09:30:46 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=23083 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 has had his share of challenges and tough choices on his journey […]

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]]> https://summerowens.com/ekundayo-bandele-s-o-what-success-story/feed/ 0 23083 Tim Ware: S.O. What! Success Story https://summerowens.com/tim-ware-so-what-success-story/ https://summerowens.com/tim-ware-so-what-success-story/#respond Sun, 11 Sep 2022 12:00:37 +0000 https://summerowens.com/?p=22961 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 men. As a single mom raising a son and working in education, I […]

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