By Semaj Attaway
Delta State University
The Rural Youth Voices Initiative seeks to empower rural youth to better serve their communities, reshape dominant narratives about rural engagement, and encourage rural-serving organizations to center youth voices. Twelve Fellows from across the United States received $500 and support from Campus Compact to support a narrative change or civic engagement project in their community.
I grew up in Indianola, Mississippi, in the heart of the Delta, where open skies meet long roads and opportunity does not always feel within reach. As a young boy, I was often labeled a “troublemaker.” I was suspended frequently, sent to the principal’s office almost daily, and felt more punished than understood. Like many young Black boys in Mississippi, I was pushed out of classrooms instead of being pulled in. I was not a bad kid. I just needed someone to see me, believe in me, and give me space to move, grow, and figure myself out.
That person came into my life in the form of a coach and teacher who changed everything for me. After my mother transferred me to a different school, this coach took me under his wing. He checked on my grades, spent weekends with me, and constantly reminded me that I was capable of more than the labels placed on me. For two years, he became a positive male figure in my life and helped me stay focused and grounded. Then, unexpectedly, he passed away due to health complications. Losing him left me devastated and directionless. Once again, I felt like I was trying to find my way without guidance.
During that difficult season, my mother and my pastor’s daughter introduced me to a chef who would become another life-changing mentor. On my 12th birthday, I joined his culinary program, and that decision changed my life. Cooking gave me an outlet. It became my therapy. It taught me discipline, creativity, and pride. Through competitions, catering events, and hands-on mentorship, I learned how to channel negative energy into something productive and meaningful. Cooking gave me a way to heal.
Today, I am a Business major at Delta State University, an honor graduate of Gentry High School, and a graduate of the 2025 Southern Poverty Law Center Advocacy Institute. Most importantly, I am the founder of Mentorship Through Meals, a 12-month culinary and entrepreneurship program designed for boys ages 10–14. This program was created because I know firsthand what happens when young Black boys are misunderstood, overlooked, or written off. Mentorship Through Meals pairs participants with Black male chefs and business mentors who provide consistent guidance, structure, and encouragement.
The program goes beyond teaching cooking skills. It focuses on emotional wellness, journaling, teamwork, goal-setting, and business ownership. Each month, participants engage in hands-on cooking sessions and small business workshops, culminating in a Youth Culinary Business Expo where they showcase their skills and pitch food-based business ideas.
Being able to shift negative energy into something positive is powerful. Cooking creates space for conversation, reflection, and connection in ways that traditional settings often do not. Sometimes, real change happens in the kitchen, over a meal, with someone who is willing to listen.
The funding I received played a major role in helping me move this project from vision to reality. It supported my participation in leadership and advocacy training, helped me refine the structure and goals of the program, and allowed me to begin building partnerships with chefs, mentors, and community organizations. The funding also gave me the time and capacity to intentionally design a program that is rooted in healing, dignity, and opportunity, not just skill-building.
More than anything, the support affirmed that my story matters and that my work has value. Mentorship Through Meals is not just a program. It is a movement and a blueprint for hope. It represents my commitment to ensuring that no child is defined by their mistakes and that every young person has access to a mentor who sees their potential. Someone once gave me a chance. Now, it is my turn to give that chance back.
Through mentorship, meals, and meaningful conversation, I am working to help young boys discover discipline, direction, and dignity, one meal and one moment at a time. Let’s dismantle the cycle, one meal, one conversation, one young Black man at a time.