Pursue Your Purpose Not Your Dreams: Jay Z Did It and At-Risk Students Can Too
Format
Individual Presentation
First Presenter's Institution
Joe Johnson Group
First Presenter’s Email Address
joejohnsonspeaks@gmail.com
First Presenter's Brief Biography
N/A
Second Presenter's Institution
not applicable
Third Presenter's Institution
not applicable
Fourth Presenter's Institution
not applicable
Fifth Presenter's Institution
not applicable
Location
Session 1 Breakouts
Strand #1
Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership
Strand #2
Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership
Relevance
Featured Speaker
Brief Program Description
So many students have been conditioned to dream big and follow their dreams. What happens when students do everything they can to attain a dream, but it never becomes a reality? Or what happens when they reach the so-called dream, and it's not what they expected? This session is designed to inform educators to help at-risk students understand the difference between purpose and dreams and to give educators a process called R4 to use with at-risk students struggling to become Life-, College-, and Career- ready!
Summary
See Brief Program Description
Evidence
Featured Speaker
Learning Objectives
Featured Speaker
Learning Objective 1
N/A
Learning Objective 2
N/A
Learning Objective 3
N/A
Biographical Sketch
Joe Johnson was born in Milwaukee, WI but has lived in several places during his childhood including Hawaii and New York. He considers Milwaukee, AKA: “The Mil” his hometown because of the family ties.
Joe Johnson understands the meaning of struggle but has lived with a mentality instilled in him by his mother, " I can do and be anything I want in life". Johnson learned the value of education from both parents but as he began his love for sports at an early age, his focus with competing on the football field and basketball court caused him to develop a "who cares" attitude toward his education.
Growing up in the inner-city of Milwaukee allowed for Johnson to almost fall victim to what many young males were doing in his neighborhood. Sports was his key out of a city where many black and Hispanic males were often victims of gang violence and self destruction. After becoming a high school standout football and basketball player, his education finally caught up with him when Division 1 colleges passed on him when finding out his grade point average and his score of 13 on the ACT (standardized test). After taking the long route by attending community college then enrolling in a university, he understood education and its affect but he continued his mediocre classroom habits with hopes of playing professional football. Although the opportunity to play professional football was close, his dream faded away and Johnson was stuck graduating with his 2.4 college grade point average and no plans about his future.
Johnson soon learned the power of competing in the classroom, the same way he competed in sports. With his new found attitude and focus , he began to excel academically after being accepted into a Master's program. Johnson soon founded to love learning and realized his purpose was transforming the lives of individuals and the culture of organizations allowing through speaking, training, and peak performance coaching.
As a proud graduate of Milwaukee Bay View high school, Johnson holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business from Saginaw Valley State University and a Master’s degree in Counselor Education from Western Michigan University, and a PhD in Counselor Education from the University of Florida, over 20 years of experience working with individuals and organizations, and is ready to take on the world!
Keyword Descriptors
College preparation, career preparation, pursuing dreams, pursuing purpose
Presentation Year
2021
Start Date
3-8-2021 10:20 AM
End Date
3-8-2021 11:20 AM
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Joe, "Pursue Your Purpose Not Your Dreams: Jay Z Did It and At-Risk Students Can Too" (2021). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 80.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2021/2021/80
Pursue Your Purpose Not Your Dreams: Jay Z Did It and At-Risk Students Can Too
Session 1 Breakouts
So many students have been conditioned to dream big and follow their dreams. What happens when students do everything they can to attain a dream, but it never becomes a reality? Or what happens when they reach the so-called dream, and it's not what they expected? This session is designed to inform educators to help at-risk students understand the difference between purpose and dreams and to give educators a process called R4 to use with at-risk students struggling to become Life-, College-, and Career- ready!