Horace Mann - Spring 2017 - 15

HM Alumni Address "The Issues" in Their Work and Lives

Stephens' choice was forsonal development. The
tunate for the region, for
organization's "R.E.A.L.
it led to the contributions
Money" aspect hosts
he's made there since.
a year-around series
A self-described
of talks on such topics
entrepreneur who
as credit, investing and
started his first business
home ownership. Good
at age 12, in his teenage
Life has also developed
years Stephens combined
a financial literacy curhis business sense with
riculum targeting urban
his love of music to form
youth, in partnership with
"C.O.U.P." (Coalition of
Primerica (Syracuse).
Underground Poets) with
Stephens developed Good
two friends from Prep
Life's "R.E.A.L. Business"
Hasan Stephens '95 with participants in a Good Life Foundation financial literacy workshop.
for Prep. One was Alvin
feature with Syracuse
Blanco '95, author of The
University's Whitman
Wu-Tang Clan and RZA: A Trip through Hip Hop's 36 Chambers,
School of Business and Management as an urban-focused
and deputy editor at Hip-HopWired.com. C.O.U.P. threw parties
entrepreneurship training program.
for high school students. Before heading to college, Stephens
"People think that poverty is lack of opportunity," said
invested in a turntable and DJ equipment to earn money DJ-ing
Stephens, explaining why he's so focused on the financial traincollege events. A post-college employment opportunity proing aspect of The Good Life Youth Foundation's work. "That's
vided by a Syracuse executive-another of Stephens' mentors- one part of it. The other part is the mentality that is forged and
gave him the corporate experience he sought, while he took
developed by not having those opportunities. It becomes a
business administration classes at Syracuse's LeMoyne College. mindset, a practice and a habitual social behavior that perStephens was then also working with the young residents of
petuates poverty and incarceration. Our curriculum attacks
Hillbrook Juvenile Detention Center in Syracuse, tapping into
these issues. If we can change cultural perspectives we can
Hip-Hop culture and music to teach life skills, personal finance,
oftentimes change outcomes and the way (people) think about
and entrepreneurship. While at Hillbrook Stephens realized that money, engage in business, and engage life."
a number of students who did well in his program before their
The Good Life Youth Foundation engages these issues in a
release would soon end up back in detention. It seemed that
very real way, with Stephens' young mentees creating, running
once identified as potential "troublemakers" the youngsters
and operating GL Fashions and Promo, a print and design comwere unable to shed that expectation-of themselves, as well as pany where they produce high quality T-shirts, custom mugs
among authorities at their schools and in law enforcement.
and socks, and design fashion. Ron Fundenberg, founder of the
Stephens identified a pressing need: to empower teens to
Unico Re' Hip-Hop fashion brand, is one young entrepreneur
avoid situations that would land them in detention or incarceraStephens mentored. Fundenberg describes the experience
tion in the first place, and then help keep them from returning.
here: http://agoodlifefound.org/impact/success-stories/. The
Working his methodology into a model, Stephens launched The
Foundation's work also includes a "Beyond 16 Bars" mentoring
Good Life Youth Foundation to reach even more young people.
program and financial curriculum for incarcerated young adults.
Good Life became a 501(c)(3) in 2012. By 2014, the program's
Along with with the continual work Stephens does to grow his
success led to it becoming approved as an official Americorps
foundation and expand its reach to urban youth he teaches at
VISTA site sponsor.
several upstate prisons, works as a strategic marketing and
Today Good Life serves hundreds of teens and young adults
leadership consultant, and is an adjunct faculty member at the
ages 13 to 24 with a variety of programs that, in turn, reach
State University of New York at Cortland, teaching Africana studmany more. "We're in a growth stage where the county and sev- ies, political science and Hip-Hop Culture, which he deeply values.
eral organizations are approaching us with contracts because
Growing up in the borough that birthed Hip-Hop the music
they like how we connect with the kids," Stephens says. To learn
and movement has been essential to Stephens' own journey.
how his foundation pursues its "mission, philosophy, moral and
He employs it today to engage the Good Life population. "In
approach" a visit to www.agoodlifefound.org serves well. Here
order to reach youth, you have to speak their language, live their
Stephens outlines his efforts to help young people make "Real
culture and have experienced what they have," says Stephens.
Connections" with mentors who he insists "talk with and not at
Describing the phenomenon of "creating something from noththem; listen to them in order to empower them."
ing" as being at the core of Hip-Hop Stephens states, "It has the
"Real" is one of Good Life's operative words. In the Good Life
power for change. It just needs to be harnessed."
lexicon R.E.A.L. also stands for "Ready to Enter and Accept Life."
That's clearly something Hasan Stephens does well, whether
Stephens promotes this motto in his foundation's "R.E.A.L. Talks" inspiring kids in his Good Life work, or as DJ Maestro expertly
series of events and lectures with local leaders, group mentorrallying the Carrier Dome crowd, for, in the end, the two persoing, and individual life coaching in social, emotional and pernas are one, and their purpose the same. $

Horace Mann Magazine Spring 2017

http://www.hiphopwired.com http://www.agoodlifefound.org/impact/success-stories/ http://www.agoodlifefound.org

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