Miami-Dade

5000 Role Models Program Gives Future College Students Laptops, Inspiration

The program was founded in 1993 to guide minority children through the path of adulthood

NBC Universal, Inc.

Over 100 recent high school graduates from across South Florida were given laptops and words of encouragement from a South Florida group and the longtime Congresswoman who founded it.

Rep. Frederica Wilson gave the students who are members of the 5000 Role Models program free laptops as they head off to college with full ride scholarships thanks to the program.

“I don’t know what I would do without the program,” said Jaykel Johnson, who has been in the program since the third grade.

The program was founded in 1993 to guide minority children through the path of adulthood. The college bound students are now equipped with a new laptop to enhance their success thanks to the Miami Dolphins.

“These are the laptops that our players use,” said Jason Jenkins, the team's Senior Vice President of Communications and Community Affairs.

Wilson said the students represent their communities and make their families proud.

“You have shattered those stereotypes,” she said.

Wilson also addressed police and their relationship with Black men and teens.

“Never run from the police, never try to run from the police, never flippantly speak to the police, look at the police's badge and on top will be his name," she said. "If you feel that he has done something wrong, you see his name and you remember that name. That’s all you concentrate on.”

Wilson gave them advice on how to navigate the college years and about adulthood overall.

“Respect women, become a husband and you become a father,” she added, reminding the students to wear the group's red ties on campus to symbolize their brotherhood.

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