Vernell Lewis has traveled a difficult road to reach where he is today. The junior business administration major and Honoré Center for Undergraduate Student Achievement student at Southern University at New Orleans has transformed personal adversity into academic achievement and future aspirations.
A graduate of George Washington Carver High School in New Orleans, Lewis’s path to SUNO began with a meaningful connection to Ava Foy, director of Upward Bound. “She saved me,” Lewis reflects, explaining how meeting her influenced his decision to attend the University. Once at SUNO, he found another mentor in Dr. Morkeith Phillips, director of the Honoré Center, who Lewis says could relate to his background in ways that made a profound difference.
Lewis is candid about the challenges that shaped his early years. “I’ve been dealing with death all my life,” he says, recounting how he witnessed a murder at just five years old. Despite his upbringing, he has used his past to fuel his determination. SUNO and Honoré Center have become a vital part of Lewis’s motivation to succeed.
“(At SUNO) I see people trying to work and win,” he said. The Honoré Center, in particular, has been transformative in how he views himself. Wearing suits, for example, has helped him maintain “a sense of pride and dignity” that extends beyond appearance to encompass his entire approach to his education and future.
A pivotal moment came during his sophomore year when Lewis participated in the SUNO College of Business and Public Administration’s Renewable Energy Management Program’s Clean Energy Debate. Despite not being naturally inclined toward public speaking, he embraced the challenge and found value in the constructive feedback from SUNO’s business faculty. “It was something that I needed,” he says of the experience.
Looking toward his future career as an educator, Lewis carries a clear vision of the impact he wants to make. He wants to teach students the value of leadership and character. He wants to impart to his future students that “knowledge is everything.” Lewis’s message to future students reflects his own journey of overcoming limitations: “Don’t let anybody tell you what you can and can’t do.”
Perhaps Lewis’s biggest lesson that Lewis has picked up as an Honoré Center student is that growth comes not from perfection, but from resilience and the willingness to improve. “Mistakes make men,” he said.
At SUNO, Lewis has found more than an education, he’s found support. Recognizing the value of the resources that he has at his disposal, Lewis also appreciates the sense of connection and belonging the Honoré Center delivers. “It’s like a brotherhood,” he said. “I get to work, and I have fun.”