Thurgood Marshall High School

Originally published 4.29.08
“It is important to surround yourself with people who share the same interests as yours, the same mindset and are not just talking but are working to take their lives to the next level”, said Keith J. Davis Jr, to many students at Thurgood Marshall High School in the Fort Bend District. He would serve as the keynote speaker for the school’s National Library Week event themed “Join the Circle of Knowledge”.
“Naturally everyone would love to achieve success in some shape or form”, said Keith Jr. aka K.Jer’Rod. “But people often fail to realize that success is not given, won or even bought. It must be earned.”
The audience in the school’s auditorium included students enrolled in challenging business classes, faculty, staff and administrators who all were eager to hear from the 17-year-old entrepreneur, who is making waves throughout the city of Houston. His hour long interactive talk covered a range of topics including business start-up tips, the need for entrepreneurship in a failing economy, marketing tactics, how to develop a positive attitude, preparation, appearance and the art of the deal.
“You don’t have to wait to get out of school to start a business. You can do it now”, he said, as many of the students took notes for a class project. “It used to be a time where our parents could work for the same company for decades, retire and then have the government take care of them. That day is over. Lay offs are on the rise so we must do something for ourselves.”
K. Jer’Rod is the president of his own foundation, author, jr. publisher of FYTYA.com, rising model, and one of the cities most sought after motivational speakers. He balances this all while still keeping up his grades at Cy-Springs High School.
To close out the speech, he covered points from his soon to be released book titled Young? So What! Ten Steps To Become A Young Entrepreneur. The book is destined to be a hit amongst young people as it outlines how success can be attained no matter what age you are. The Thurgood Marshall students soaked up the steps that included networking, developing a game plan, building a mentoring team and maintaining longevity at the top.
“I truly enjoyed his words today”, stated Cortez Kimble, a senior who is headed to LSU in the Fall semester. “I am looking forward to doing big things.”
“We were so honored to have K. Jer’Rod on campus today and he did a wonderful job”, said Ms. Yvonne Jackson, the school’s lead librarian and event coordinator. “The kids were coming by my office sharing their excitement! It was a great venue indeed.”
Also in attendance was his father Keith J. Davis Sr. and Tony Bynum, a former student at Thurgood Marshall who is now a successful young realtor.
Young? So What! The time is now.