Throughout their college careers, brothers Quay Longs and Jamaree (JJ) Jones, made it their mission to support under-resourced youth. The pair graduated from FGCU with master’s degrees in entrepreneurship last spring. With the teachings and resources provided by the Daveler & Kauanui School of Entrepreneurship, the alumni host a yearly summer camp to bridge the gap between under-resourced youth and higher education.
The two call the camp Strive Hall. For one weekend, campers ranging from 15 to 24 years old stay in the South Village dorms and participate in various activities to teach them skills to adapt to a college environment.
“We started this in our undergrad,” Jones said. “We wanted to provide opportunities for youth to see opportunities and take advantage of them when they do come about. We started as volunteers, working with an organization through the School of Entrepreneurship. Then, we ended up going into the direction we’re into now with Strive Hall, where we’re bringing them to campus and giving them the experience for what it’s like to be in college.”
When working as volunteers, students were originally meant to learn how to build an idea and start a business.
“The original goal was not feasible for students,” Longs said. “They didn’t see the opportunity that the School of Entrepreneurship provided. So, we said, ‘Hey, we need to teach them mindset so they can see the opportunities.”
They hosted their first camp in the summer of 2022 with 13 campers.
The planned lessons allowed the campers to practice communication, teamwork and, most importantly, adaptability, a learned skill that was transformative for the brothers.
“I think a lot of it started from JJ and I’s life story. These are things we wish we knew how to do, we wish we knew how to adapt,” Longs said. “When I first got to FGCU, I got pushed out after one year and it took me three or four years just to get back in school. During that time, we were working on our mindset. That was one of the topics we had to perfect, the adaptability.”
Each lesson is individually planned with its own corresponding curriculum.
“We try to deliver the lesson in a way that the kids can enjoy it,” Jones said. “We kind of disguise lessons that we do with the students. They are student-centered and more so coaching, as opposed to lecturing.”
With a team of FGCU alumni and current interns from the School of Entrepreneurship, the weekend of July 12 marked the third annual summer camp with 26 students in attendance, including a few returning students.
This summer was freshman Jeni Francisco’s second year attending Strive Hall. She wanted to return to learn more and grow in herself. Also, she finds the camp lessons will apply to her new life at FGCU.
“Especially adaptability,” Francisco said. “Adapting to a whole new environment, a bigger campus: advisors, teachers, friends. Honestly, I have to study more and do my homework. I have to manage my time and adapt to studying outside of school. I did not have to do that in high school.”
The camp has become a passion for the brothers to give back to the community.
“Looking at all of this makes you want to shed a tear,” Jones said. “You’re able to make this type of impact on the youth. It’s been something that we’ve been working on because where we’re from, not everyone pursues higher education, most people don’t. So, whenever you get students who can see the value and want to take advantage of opportunities, that means the world. They’re one step closer to breaking a generational curse of lack of opportunities or lack of knowledge.”
Longs feels similar.
“We create opportunities out of the things that we have. I’m far from rich but I’m able to, at least, give back. I feel like everyone should be doing something similar to that type of essence. For me, just seeing the kid’s transformation, especially the returners, when they come back and they’re a whole new person. Learning from their parents how much impact Strive Hall has on them, makes it all worth it. More than any monetary value,” he said.
Attending FGCU played a big part in the pair’s comfort in pursuing their passions.
“The experience here, the community they built for students and the student experience, played a huge role on us, we wanted students to be able to experience that too,” Jones said. “Having that support and having a community feel to the university, where everybody’s personable, plays a huge part working with all students, but especially under-resourced youth like we were. We came in [to FGCU], we messed up, but they never gave up on us. They gave us opportunities afterward and still gave us all the support that we needed.”
