LearnServe South Africa 2017: The Message Trust (7/7)

My day Friday went very well; I enjoyed every part of it! The experiences throughout the day helped me reflect on how I would like to help people, and also how to be a better investor and entrepreneur.

During the beginning of the day, we sat and listened to how a man named Preston Jongbloed, who didn’t want to be a part of many stereotypes as a colored man in South Africa, overcame those stereotypes. He is part of an organization called The Message Trust. He explained how he was around his uncles and cousins who sold drugs and had guns, but he chose the path of football (soccer). Because of his experiences he talks to young people and people who are incarcerated to flip their life in a more positive way. The Message Trust also helps young people to get out of prison for good behavior. I would love to do what he does to inspire people to do better in their lives and to help people like my mother to get out of prison for good behavior.

Secondly, later that day, another thing we did was go to Corwin and Kim Shropshire’s house, where they prepared a lovely dinner of pizza for us and also spoke about their careers. Ms. Kim works for the U.S. consulate office in South Africa where she serves as a diplomat, who regularly moves due to different government assignments she has. She recently moved from New York, to D.C., to Pakistan, and now to South Africa!

We also had the pleasure of getting to know Kim’s husband, Mr. Corwin Shropshire. One very interesting thing that Mr. Corwin spoke about was how he invests in stocks and different businesses.Even though he didn’t speak about what he invested in, he gave me a very important list on how to start as a beginner. I believe we really connected once I told him my life plan for when I turn 18: to become a young investor and entrepreneur.

Overall, today was impactful because the information I gathered helped me to better my future as an investor and become more successful!

Alonzo T., Eastern High School