Photo by Dayne Francis | The Signal
College is just a minor stepping stone for this Georgia State Panther, whose passion for decreasing homelessness, came from personal experience. Pushing past obstacles, he gained a greater appreciation for life, by fueling a hunger for education and success.
This year’s nominated participant for Panther of the Year was given to Branden Stokes. As an older brother to five sisters, Stokes has plenty of experience with being a role model. Which is why he is actively involved in numerous organizations on campus.
“Through these organizations, it’s causing me to be active on campus, and you never know that you can be a role model for some people,” Stokes said. “So when they see me active around the GSU community that gets them inspired to say, ‘Hey maybe I should start doing stuff instead of going to school and not being active.’
Stokes takes a role in being a peer mentor, campus tour guide, a member of Infinite Appeal and Man Cave, a Christian organization for young men. Finding a balance between classes, work, and campus involvement requires motivation and time management, according to Stokes.
“You gotta have time management skills, [and] you’re going to learn how to develop those during freshman year,” Stokes said. “When I first came here I was like, ‘Oh, I can wing it? No,’ because when I started failing tests, I learned how to develop time management skills.”
Stokes is currently studying pre-law, with a minor in history. His concentration is law and society because it touches on both philosophy and politics.
“Since the fifth grade I knew what I wanted to do,” Stoke said. “[Few] things that I know I’m good at is words, motivating, inspiring and persuading people into doing the right or positive thing.”
Moving Forward
One factor that shaped Stokes’s passion for helping the homeless was through personal experience. Nearly eight years ago the peer mentor went through a hardship that impacted his family. However, the burden brought him closer to his family.
“There was a point in time where I was homeless,” Stokes said. “Our house burned down, I didn’t let that deter me into a path of criminal activity, and it just fueled my hunger for my education and being more successful in the world.”
After graduating, the peer mentor wants to use his education to one day help others in the Atlanta community by owning a few businesses and opening up more homeless shelters. Stokes wants to clean up the street, by implementing programs which provide clothing, meals, and jobs, to help the homeless enter a better environment.
“I want my money to make itself,” Stokes said. “I don’t want to be rich, I want to be wealthy, so I can live comfortably and give back to the community.”
The peer mentor is always energized to combat new obstacles. Whenever Stokes finds himself in a tough situation, he uses faith to stay motivated.
“As long as I have God, by my side, I can do anything,” Stokes said. “Break down any barriers [or] any walls, nothing is impossible.”
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Getting to know the Panther of the Year
Q: Do you ever find yourself in a position where you have to take a step back and relax from all the activities, school and work? If so, what do you do during those moments?
Stokes: The time that I do, that is on the weekends. I’m a very adventurous guy, so I like exploring. I will probably go and explore Atlanta, go to centennial park or the little downtown attractions. I’m a very curious guy, and my thirst for wisdom and knowledge is great. I like researching, going to the museum, playing billiards and playing basketball.
Q: Do you have any business or organizations on campus that you’ve helped get started?
Stokes: Man Cave, I didn’t found it, but I’m one of the early members. I [like] getting it out, telling other young men about the possibilities of just having a men’s group.
Photo by Dayne Francis | The Signal
Usually, men who are Christians have so many thoughts jumbled in their head, but they just can’t tell anybody those thoughts because people look at them like they’re crazy. This [is] a place where you can release those thoughts and get wisdom from other men that are immersed in God themselves.
Q: What are some principles that you live by?
Stokes: Respect all elders, even if you’re homeless, you’re still my elder. My grandmother is a minister, and she says ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ Giving back to the community, being successful and making money comfortably, inspires me to be determined and work harder for those things in life.
Q: For all of the organizations that you are a part of, what has been a very impactful moment for you?
Stokes: Feeding the homeless. I’ve done a lot of community service at Safe House, and sometimes just listening to some of these stories, seeing mothers come in with children. Sometimes, I dip out and pray to God to bless them and bring them out of that situation. Hearing some of the stories is really tough on my heart because I know what it’s like to be homeless.
Q: How does your family feel about your involvement within the community? Are they proud of your achievements?
Stokes : I’m in college. I don’t have kids, and I don’t have a record. Being in college making good grades, and knowing that I’m a role model to other boys in the church back at home, knowing that I’m being the best that I can be makes my mother not have to worry. I’m making a positive impact in life and in society.
Q: What made you decided to study pre-law at Georgia State?
Stokes: Georgia State wasn’t my choice. I went to the University of Georgia. It was a culture shock. Then I came to Georgia State, [and] I took a tour, and I was like, ‘dang it’s so diverse,’ people from different ethnicities and cultures, and I could actually see myself walking through the streets of Atlanta when going to class.
Q: How would you define your college experience so far at Georgia State?
Stokes: Sometimes I would look at my peers and wonder how we would be in the future. Then I would look back and think back to freshman year, sophomore year and junior year in high school. We hoped that we would all be successful in life. I’m in college now, and it’s a great feeling.
Q: How did you feel when you found out that you were nominated to be Panther of the Year?
Stokes: I am not going to lie I was shocked. ‘I’m like what, from everybody at Georgia State? There’s like 50 thousands [of] kids.’ It made me [feel] very humble and made me feel so much gratitude, that somebody actually knows about the work that I’m doing at Georgia State.
Q: How would you describe the atmosphere at Georgia State, and how would you place yourself in that spectrum?
Stokes : The atmosphere is that we are all trying to graduate, and we are all trying to be successful in life. I place myself in that same category. We’re not here for games, we are actually here for work, we are trying to get that professional job and be better in life. We don’t want to work a nine-to-five for the rest of our lives; we want to be great and live comfortably. Everybody is about their business; we pay too much money just to throw it down the drain.
