My name is Brian Christopher Odom and I am a product of REAP.

 

When I started my freshman year of high school at Reynolds High School it was as if I was stranded on an island with no sign of direction or hope.

Though I was known by many students and teachers, the individual they knew was just a façade I put up in order to help me deal with the conflictions of my inner being, who I was and who I wanted to be. I was an athlete, a ladies man, a class clown and I could’ve cared less about my grades, my life or my future. Why would I if no one else cared?

 

Toward the end of my freshman year I started to form habits and addictions that did not reflect my potential or properly portray who I really was. As my grades and attendance declined I started selling drugs to the people that lived in my apartment complex.

 

I grew hopelessly comfortable with living as the person I pretended to be as I continued down my own path of self-destruction. Toward the end of my sophomore year I was introduced to REAP by my school administrator. One day at school I decided to check it out the program. Since day one I have felt a since of unity. The REAP staff person was my advocate, my mentor and a father like figure to me. REAP pushed me to find my voice and to let it be heard.

 

I learned a lot about myself throughout my years of involvement with REAP. My entire mentality shifted and a passion for leadership was discovered and unleashed. I’ve become a much more effective communicator and I also have learned to show more love and respect for my family. I stopped selling drugs to those in my community and became more and more involved with REAP.

 

As a REAP Ambassador at my school I had the opportunity to help organize and facilitate the first ever Black Student Leadership Conference for the entire school district hosted by REAP. My peers and I made special presentations to city officials, education policy leaders and throughout the community. My self-respect became stronger and stronger and the more I involved myself with REAP the more I saw my true potential.

 

It became more obvious that I had the ability to make a difference. Overtime, I became a mature and responsible young man. When I first joined REAP my school GPA was 1.3 and by the time I graduated three years later my GPA was 3.4

 

I can’t fully express the difference that REAP has made in my life. I am currently pursuing an education to become a future nurse and I am happy to be employed with REAP part-time. I enjoy spending part of my day helping students who remind me of myself to overcome their inner conflicts and discover their true potential.