JACKSON, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
The stage was set to change lives Thursday afternoon at Murrah High School, in Jackson.
Jim Barksdale, Interim-Director of the Mississippi Development Authority, spoke with students and gave them advice about the future.
"The best investment I ever made was getting a good education because it allowed me the options."
The Dave Cannada Mentoring Program allows successful Murrah alumni to bring real world experiences, to an auditorium of tomorrow's potential leaders.
"They come in and they talk to students about pitfalls, about education that's required for these specific roles, and we try to target those students who are actually interested in those careers," explains Principal Dr. Freddrick Murray.
In its second year, the program is giving more than 400 teens a new look at their future.
"I think it's always nice to have somebody that's like concerned with us and will come and help us figure out what we want to do, because there's so much that we can go out there and accomplish if we just had a good mentor," says student Allison Bradshaw.
"It gives me more motivation. It gives me time to sit and think about how my career is going to end up and how successful I will be," adds fellow student Christopher Franklin.
The guest speakers have a reason to inspire. Each person asked to speak is an alumni of Murrah High.
Every person that comes back talks about the good experiences that they had at Murrah. They understand the pride and that carries over into their message," says Murray.
At Thursday's event, the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson announced a $5,000 dollar award from the Dave Cannada Memorial Scholarship Fund will be given to a Murrah senior next school year.
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