Greenville Renaissance Scholars has a new executive director and is a position Samesa Hoskins believes she’s fated to be in.
“As a scholar, community member and organizer, I am certain that this is the work that I am called to do,” Hoskins said.
She grew up on a farm in Inverness before continuing her education at Millsaps in political science and communications.
It was on the farm she learned from her grandparents.
“At the beginning and end of each day, I am reminded through meditation of the lessons from my grandparents,” Hoskins said. “My grandfather, a hardworking farmer of Native and European descent, was someone who always put forth his best effort with a smile. My grandmother, the matriarch, led the family in dignity, empowerment, love and funniest jokes told.”
Her education at Millsaps and time spent studying abroad helped her to develop the cross-disciplinary skills the organization needs to complete its mission.
“The mission of GRS is to inspire, motivate, and prepare students to succeed,” Hoskins said. “I simply want to translate and transcribe my experiences to lead a productive and inspiring program. We have serious systemic educational disparities here and one must be in a position to create and funnel resources.”
Her plans for the organization include:
* Revamping and expanding the School Year Program and Camp Renaissance;
* create a sustainable program that provides enriching experiences; and
* create partners who can make serious investments in the arts, music production, nature exploration, robotics, mathematics, reading and comprehension, history and storytelling, and all things science.
The GRS program is not Hoksins first foray in the word of education and community enrichment.
“I have in-depth involvement with the Indianola Promise Community, The Well Community Project, The Kellogg Foundation partnerships, Teach for America, The Women’s Foundation of MS, NAACP, One Voice and Higher Purpose Co.,” Hoskins said. “I have developed a relationship with an expansive network of community organizations and Greenville Renaissance Scholars is a part of that.”
In 2007, Margaret Joseph and a group of dedicated Greenville community members found GRS.
Since then, GRS has served hundreds of middle school students in the greater Greenville area. The programs work to strengthen core academic skills and provide students with enrichment experiences in the arts, college planning and exposure and field experiences.
The overall goal is to prepare middle school students to plan for college even before they enter high school. There are no grade prerequisites to participate in programs, just a demonstrated ability to respect others and work hard.
The leadership of GRS has set itself the following goals:
* Maintain a population of students that consists of at least 75% students who are at-risk;
* Increase academic achievement as measured by internal benchmarks and standardized tests;
* Instill in students the social, interpersonal and leadership skills necessary to make a positive impact on their community and succeed in the professional world;
* Enable Scholars and families to understand the pathway to college and what it will take to be successful in college; and
* Ensure that underperforming high school Scholars receive the support needed to succeed in school.
