James Smith spoke up.

“Sometimes when I get up in the morning, the homies in the neighborhood are still sleeping on the steps when I go to work,” says the 19-year-old Georgia Perimeter College student.  “Sometimes you need motivation from someone outside your environment. If everyone is talking negative, then the light becomes very dim.”

The sentiment expressed by Smith, who attends GPC’s Clarkston Campus, was echoed by the more than 30 GPC students participating in the African American Male Initiative Conference, “Rewiring for Success: Face Your Challenges, Make Good Choices and Become a Champion,” held in Newton County. Smith’s comments were part of a discussion about college, motivation and personal roadblocks to success.

Organized by Keith Cobbs, GPC’s Newton Campus dean of student services, the day-long conference featured speakers who focused on professional conduct, self-made entrepreneurship and healthy relationships. The program combined students from Cobbs’s AAMI freshman perspective class and students in GPC’s Leadership Academy on Clarkston Campus.

Launched as a pilot program by the University System of Georgia in 2003, the AAMI aims to expand participation and retention of African-American males in the state’s 31 public colleges and universities. GPC started its first program on the Clarkston Campus in 2005.

The 2013-14 academic year marked the first time GPC's Newton Campus has offered a course focused on helping African-American males succeed in college. Twenty students are currently enrolled in the AAMI course.

According to 2011 GPC retention data, just 36 percent of all African-American males on the Newton campus stayed in college, compared to 53 percent of other males.

For students such as Darin Hollis, attending the AAMI course at GPC Newton has helped him to “find my niche in life.” He appreciates the support the program has given him. “There are a lot of distractions out there,” he says.

“One day you can be dedicated to school; the next, we fall off and get lazy,” the 19-year-old Covington resident says. “Coming to college means I wanted to give myself a chance to succeed.” 

Hollis found out about the AAMI program during fall orientation on Newton Campus. He hopes one day to become a physical therapist or a personal trainer.

Cobbs was excited about the students’ reaction to the conference. “The energy was phenomenal; it was a great combination of good speakers and individuals who needed to hear what they had to say.”

Cobbs hopes to start a peer mentoring program in the fall in addition to the freshman perspective course.

Funded through the University System of Georgia’s AAMI program with a $28,000 grant, the Newton course has been renewed for the 2014-15 academic year.

That’s good news to students such as Jesse Hill, who attended this year’s program and reflected on the value of AAMI in his life. “I learned more about respect; integrity for myself, and better leadership skills,” the Conyers student says.