One of the “most influential black men in America” will soon make a stop in St. Louis to speak with inner city youth.
The St. Louis Internship Program, a local nonprofit dedicated to preparing local high school students for academic and professional success, will host a special two-day event May 15 and 16 featuring entrepreneurial icon, business mogul and best-selling author Farrah Gray.
During a luncheon on May 15, Gray will talk to St. Louis business leaders about the importance of investing in young people through programs like St. Louis Internship Program. The luncheon will be held at the St. Louis Woman’s Club (4600 Lindell Boulevard) from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
On May 16, he will share his story of hope and determination with program students – inspiring them to believe in the power of their dreams.
“Dr. Gray’s visit will be an inspiration to our students and provide an ideal of achievement,” said Shanise Johnson, program director of the St. Louis Internship Program.
“We hope his story will steer our students toward success in their academic and professional endeavors and remain with them for the rest of their lives.”
Achieving more in his 24 years than most achieve in a lifetime, Gray is a model for upward urban mobility. Raised on the impoverished South Side of Chicago, he defied the odds and became a self-made millionaire by the age of 14.
He began his entrepreneurial, personal and civic development at the age of six, selling homemade body lotion and hand-painted rocks door-to-door. Since that time, he has had many business and personal successes and touched many lives through his best-selling book, Reallionaire, as a radio host and syndicated columnist and through The Farrah Gray Foundation.
Founded in 1992, the St. Louis Internship Program is a local organization that provides employment preparation training to the youth of St. Louis city who might not otherwise have the necessary resources to get ahead. The program consists of training and development workshops, an eight-week paid summer internship and year-round educational opportunities including financial and planning assistance for post-secondary career goals.
Since its inception in 1992, more than 2,900 area students have completed the SLIP program with more than 98 percent of the interns graduating high school and going on to college or other post-secondary training programs. The program has also been replicated in 38 cities as a model for community based internships.