Devin Johnson’s Road to Leadership: “You have to follow to become a better leader…”
I AM MENtality is all about the youth! Using mentoring and leadership development, we want to enlighten the minds of Baltimore males.
Our I AM MENtality program is a tool that provides opportunities for Baltimore’s young people to learn to be community leaders by doing great work. They are compensated for some of their projects and in our frequent Financial Literacy sessions, they learn how to manage their money.
We think this is very important because we believe that young men should invest in their communities at a young age in order to gain value and take ownership of the communities they serve today. At I AM MENtality, we come up with realistic approaches to teach youth about financial literacy. To learn more, check out this video.
Giving youth support is essential to empowering them to succeed, so we encourage them to become leaders, make smart decisions, learn to budget properly, and take care of themselves and their future.
To develop our youth’s leadership skills, find their voice as young men, and engage in positive change in their communities, we offer various programs beginning in elementary school. To make a contribution to our efforts, please visit www.iammentality.com/donate.
Here at I AM MENtality, we have a great group of youth, and we are constantly checking in with them to gauge their involvement in our programs and the impact we are having on their lives.
One of our Youth Leaders is a bright young man, Devin Johnson. He is a 15-year-old high school senior at Bluford Drew Jemison Stem Academy West. This year he is participating in basketball, swimming and wrestling. He enjoys the outdoors, watching television, and playing video games. Devin’s favorite subject in school is Chemistry.
“My goals in life are to become one of the richest pilots in Baltimore. My goal is to be financially and mentally stable. To become successful and become a better person. Handling what I have to handle as a man and take the things I learn from I AM MENtality and use it to better myself,” Devin said.
“You have to follow to become a better leader. Surround yourself with people who are doing better things. The people you think are nerds are probably people you should spend more time around and learn from,” he added.
Devin and his mother, Sonya Armstrong, have been involved in I AM MENtality for over four years. Sonya Armstrong placed her son in I AM MENtality because she wanted him to be a great leader, and she has seen her son’s growth as a result of their involvement.
“I want my son to be someone…His name will stand out for him being a great man,” said Sonya. Listen to her testimony in the video here.
Now Sonya’s grandson, Baden, is also an I AM MENtality Youth Leader and she encourages other young men in her family to get involved.
Devin has a clear path and aims for his future, and it is our mission to help Devin develop the skills he needs to reach his goals and become a great leader.
We have met countless Baltimore youth boys who are determined to succeed and passionate about developing their leadership skills. Although our youth face challenges related to finances, family, education, etc., we provide them with opportunities to grow.
We hope you’ll join us in supporting Devin and the rest of our youth males by donating to our non-profit organization! Click here to donate!