Tommie Mabry, Ph.D., a four-time best-selling and award-winning author recognized for his story of resilience and transformation, opened EmpowerU, a professional development conference for University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff students earlier this month.
The event was hosted by the UAPB Office of Career Services and sponsored by Synchrony Financial, according to a news release.
In addition to Mabry, the first day of the conference included a session on “Money Matters: Building Reputation Through Financial Literacy” by Arlo Washington, founder and president of People Trust Community Federal Credit Union, and “Time to Brand: Elevate Your Image, Expand Your Impact” by Tyquan and Angelica Walton, founders of K & C Media.
The second day consisted of an EmpowerU Case Competition, where students were paired in groups of five and stepped into the role of consulting team members hired to design a new student engagement initiative, campaign, plan or strategy.
The case focused on increasing student participation in the Career Services programs and tools while also enhancing the reputation of Career Services across the UAPB campus. The students presented ideas and solutions before a group of judges.
The following first place winners each received a $500 scholarship from the Kellogg Company:
Charlston Colen, a senior majoring in industrial technology management and applied engineering;
Madison Goodloe, a senior majoring in multimedia communications;
Jude Kearney, a junior majoring in computer science;
Imani Ervin, a freshman majoring in pre-nursing; and
Elijah Reinking, a sophomore majoring in agriculture business.
Students who attended the whole conference were also eligible to win prizes, including HP laptops, iPads, Amazon gift cards, Beats earbuds and wireless speakers. Two students won gift cards for being the first to arrive at the conference.
According to Shirley Cherry, director of the UAPB Office of Career Services, EmpowerU provided a transformative experience designed to help students grow personally and professionally by focusing on three pillars of success:
Accountability — Students will discover how taking ownership of their actions leads to growth and trust.
Reputation — Students will learn how their character and consistency shape the way others see them.
Time — Students will explore how wise time management can elevate their impact and legacy.
“We are proud to share that Synchrony Financial is the exclusive sponsor of this transformative event, and their investment in our students is both generous and deeply impactful,” Cherry said. “Synchrony is not just sponsoring an event — they are investing in the transformation of UAPB students from learners to professionals. Their commitment reflects a powerful partnership that aligns with our mission to prepare students for success beyond the classroom.”
Mabry has been on platforms including the Jennifer Hudson Show, USA Today, PBS Network and FOX Soul.
When Mabry told UAPB students he had been expelled from 10 schools, possessed a 1.8 grade point average, and was once arrested for breaking into the state fairgrounds in fifth grade, one could have heard a pin drop in the STEM Conference Center.
Mabry’s transparent presentation was filled with personal experiences, straightforward truths and life hacks on how not to allow adversity or pain to stop one from moving forward. He stated that his parents only had an eighth-grade education and, as the baby boy in his family, he was first-generation “everything” in finishing high school and college.
He shared that he grew up in and loved Jackson, Miss., which he later learned had the highest murder rate in the U.S. He revealed that as a young boy, his family was evicted from every house they had ever lived in. His mother attempted suicide in front of him, and he witnessed a drunk driver instantly kill a young woman who lived next door to him, whom he was told would be his future wife. He added that the young woman’s name is among the 75 tattoos that he has.
Once an aspiring NBA player, Mabry’s future in athletics was cut short in college due to an accident in which he was shot in his right foot by a friend. As a result, he lost all of his scholarships but later gained his true purpose in life.
“Why am I a standout basketball player, and I’m hanging with someone with a gun in their pocket?” Mabry asked the room of more than 80 UAPB students. “Listen, you can’t be in the street and be a basketball player at the same time. You can’t be in the street and be a student at the same time. In order to get something you never had, you’ve got to do something you never did and become a person you’ve never been, is a real thing. To get in a better shape, you’ve got to get out the circle you’ve been in. You can’t be who you used to be and who you aspire to be at the same time.”
“When your perspective changes, your attitude changes. Your perspective is your morals, your beliefs, your outcomes, your overall view of what you’re doing every day. So, you walk into this building every day, and you have the mindset that one day, I’m going to walk out of here with something that’s bigger than me. I’m getting more from this college than they got from me. That’s why you’re here today,” Mabry said.
Reinking, who is originally from Dewar, Okla., said the conference enlightened him about the services the Office of Career Services offers, as well as the level of care staff members possess.
“It was just a great time to be able to meet more students on campus who have the same drive and like-minded goals as I do. It was a great time of networking and getting to see how much (the staff) care about us and how they want us to succeed on an individual level,” Reinking said.
He added that Mabry’s presentation made him feel “empowered as a man (and) to have more confidence in myself and if I’m going to step into something, to have confidence in it and know that if I put my mind to it, I can do because I know that I’m capable but I need to have the confidence to be able to let others know that I am capable and I am going to do the best that I can.”
As a member of the winning team that placed first in the case competition, Reinking said he felt that was an important part of the conference.
“It actually for me would probably be the case study because it takes everything we just learned, and it puts it into practice. If you have knowledge but you don’t know how to apply it, it’s nothing,” Reinking said.
Tanique B. Jobe, a UAPB sophomore criminal justice major from Perris, Calif., who has attended for two years in a row, said the conference was “very eye-opening and a lot of gems were given.” She also discussed the benefits of being in the room to hear the speakers.
“Overall, I took many life lessons and advice from the numerous speakers. The speakers speaking life and courage into me were very beneficial for me,” Jobe said. “The most important part of the conference to me was the case study. I feel this was the most important part because I got to meet new people and work with them on a real-life problem. We all connected instantly, and our presentation came out good. There was one main lesson I took away from this conference, and that was most of the speakers explaining that it doesn’t matter where or what you come from, you have the strength and will to create a different future for yourself.”
