“I was a little bit of a troublemaker. I talked a lot in class. I didn’t really respect people. Dad died before I was born. He was playing dice and got shot. My mom told me they got mad because he had won the money. My dad wouldn’t give it back so this other guy shot him. We don’t know what happened to the guy. I think that’s why I acted how I did because I didn’t have a father to tell me what was wrong and what wasn’t.” – Marquan
Marquan is a student at Studio 222, an after-school arts program that helps at-risk youth realize their potential.
Working with the students at Studio 222 is not always easy. There is a lot of difficult behavior. A lot of sad stories. A lot of disrespect. Not much gratitude. Sometimes you wonder if any of them will ever get it.
However since 2004, so many volunteers have spent time encouraging, challenging, supporting and loving these students. Each encounter has shed light on a better way of life and brought hope where there was little. Each moment, each smile, each listening ear, each lesson on respect, each second, third, fourth chance, each model of caring has changed the course of many, many lives at Studio 222.
Recently, Marquan answered the following questions:
Is there a defining moment in your life? – “Probably 6th grade when I started at Studio. Being taught manners and how to respect people. It had to come to me. It took a couple of years to develop that.”
What do you remember? – “I thought it wasn’t possible for me to change.”
Why did you want to change? – “I wanted to learn to be better person. People were telling me that I was disrespectful and I thought-I really am. I decided I wanted to change. We took art, music, acting, computers, photography….”
Did you go to college? -“Yes, I did get to college and I’m not even gonna lie, it was so hard my first semester because I was not ready and then I started having money problems so I had to find a job and a Studio volunteer told her brother to give me a job and I am so grateful for this job. It keeps money in my pocket and it helps me pay my car payment.”
Who are game changers? Each week I have the privilege of seeing the volunteers who model the life of Christ by loving, supporting, encouraging, guiding and caring for the students of Studio 222. They are game changers. We all can be game changers.
“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” -1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Julie Robinson, Executive Director of Studio 222
