Meet Marcus Jenkins of Jenkins Empowerment Consulting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marcus Jenkins.  

Hi Marcus, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Growing up in Asheville, NC, I always found that youth gravitated towards me. When we had family cookouts, all my little cousins would find me. When I was working with TRIO, you could always find me with a group of youth – No matter the setting, I begin to get coined with the title “Uncle Marcus.” I truly realized the next generation was my passion when I began to work in Park & Rec back home over the summer while in college. A lot of the young men and women I served did not always have positive role models in their life. Parents would often ask if I mentored outside of work.

When I transitioned to Fayetteville my sophomore year while Fayetteville State University, everything began to fall into place. I got my first apartment and decided Fayetteville is my new home (got tired of making that 4.5-hour drive back to Asheville during holidays and school breaks). I originally had a full-ride scholarship for football at FSU. It was my passion, and I was dead set on making a huge impact on the field for my team. Unfortunately, the universe had different plans for me. In high school (T.C Roberson High), I was a school record-holding all-conference first-team athlete. Yet, I had broken both wrists, tore my MCL (left knee), and tore my ACL (right knee). These injuries hindered me at the next level, but I was still set on following my passion for football.

Over the summer heading into my sophomore year while working at Parks & Recreation at the Shiloh Center in Asheville, NC, I tore my quadriceps (left leg) in a relay race within a friendly completion amongst the different local rec centers. I have always been a competitor, but I should have been wise and properly stretched. Stretching was always my achilles heel. Following my recovery, I dislocated my knee (left leg) in a game of dodgeball with my young bucks.

At this point, I realized I need to put football on the back burner due to my injuries. Luckily, I was smart and was able to pivot to the books and my fraternity. My mother, grandmother, and grandfather all have education backgrounds. Ranging from teachers to my grandfather bring the first black principle in Asheville, NC. School was always stressed in my family. My mother always pushed me to enroll in AP and Honors course in High school. Which paid dividends in college in later years. With football gone & my head focused on the books, with more spare time than I ever had in college – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. was the best thing I could have come across.

In crossing my sophomore year, it helped expose a kid from a small city to the more than I had ever been exposed too. I was able to formulate a brotherhood with thousands of men with various backgrounds and perspectives. I was able to get into regional leadership, where I was the Assistant Executive Director for the Southern Region. It felt as if I was following my grandfather’s legacy, who happened to be a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Through the frat I was able to connect with my lifelong mentor, Jeff May. He was the Youth Development Coordinator for Cumberland County Schools. From this relationship, I was able to intern under him and create R.O.O.T.S (Regiment of Overriding the Statists) Mentoring.

In always knowing the next generation was my passion, Jeff May provided the resources, support, and setting to help my passion thrive and transcend to the next level. Connecting me with the first school we ever mentored in, Alger B Wilkins High. This all started in 2016, 7 years later R.O.O.T.S Mentoring is a thriving 501c3 that has impacted thousands of young men and woman, three counties, and even more households. It’s a blessing and a true story of manifesting a vision through leveraging resources we have around us every day!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not, that’s the beautiful thing that makes you appreciate the journey. My junior year, I had my daughter, Avery. At 21, I was working multiple jobs to prepare for a child, maintain my apartments, help in supporting my fiancé (who was still in school as well), and fund the mentoring group. It was times where we had really long nights getting Avery to bed, but still knowing I had to get up early for a mentoring session or head into one of my jobs. Luckily my fiancé’s father was a phenomenal resource and watched her to ensure we could focus on graduating on time. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next, you can tell us a bit more about your business.
Aside from ROOTS, which was officially filed with the IRS in 2021, I am the President of Jenkins Empowerment Consulting. JEC is the for-profit side of ROOTS. JEC often helps to fund the 501c3 R.O.O.TS. JEC consist of Keynote Speaking. Life Coaching and Professional Development. Traditionally my audience is Schools, Rec Centers, Non-Profit Organizations, Sales Professionals, and the next generation. I’m passionate about sharing my story and bridging the gap between corporate and the community. My talents have allowed me to be in various rooms, meetings, and spaces most young black men wouldn’t be comfortable or don’t feel they belong. I challenge that and consistently work to help redefine the standard to allow my community, people, and the next generation to thrive in the midst of getting comfortable being uncomfortable. I also express this through my podcast with my partner, James. It’s called #LetsGrowTogether, and you can find it anywhere you get your podcast from! 

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk-taking.
Risk-taking come with being a business owner if you like it or not. Betting on yourself is the biggest risk you can take. Oftentimes, I bet on specific induvial on my team. I’m a huge team player, and I put a lot of faith in my team to executive the collective vision we have put in play. Often times the reward is great, but every now and then someone drops the ball, and you have to step up to fill the void. R.O.O.T.S. has a few different levels to it. But the most vital is our college students. We have college students who serve as mentors to middle through high schoolers. We do this due to small age gap. Most speak the same lingo, listen to the same music, and are influenced by similar figures. This allows for natural relationships to form, and both are able to easily relate to one another due to similar experiences. Most of the time the biggest risk is within taking on a recently graduated high school student and helping to develop them into a president of other college students dedicated to mentoring high school elementary to high school students. Maturity, discipline, and proper communication skills are all vital within building the relationship and grooming them. Yet, it is a risk that your passion has to be willing to take in order to help mold the next generation.

Pricing:

• Keynote Speaking/Professional Development 60 mins – 1000
• Keynote Speaking/Professional Development 30 mins – 500
• Life Coaching Session 30 mins – 250
• Life Coaching Session 15 mins – 100
• R.O.O.T.S Mentoring (In-Person Sessions) – Free

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rootsmentoring.net/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mastermind_marcus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcus.m.jenkins.7
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smarcusjenkins/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@letsgrowtogetherllc7010/featured
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/rootsmentoring/