Piedmont Triad mom helps boys prepare for college
(WGHP) — Felicia Crouch enjoys guiding minority boys on the skills it takes to stand out.
'If you're going to get into these … these universities, you've got to set yourself apart,' she said.
It's an important observation that comes from her more than two decades of experience in the pharmaceutical, medical, marketing and sales industries, especially as a mom to two sons.
'I really started to think about how do we change that trajectory. How do we begin to make an imprint in this corporate space young for minority boys,' Felicia said.
She is the creator and founder of the Masters League Foundation for Boys – a 501(c)(3) Christian philanthropy organization focused on preparing minority boys to become future leaders.
'It is Winston-Salem's first and only leadership and development program for both the public and private school sectors,' Felicia said.
'That was a major piece for me: him being able to participate with … other young men that look like him, especially with him being in a private school where … there were very few Black and brown young men that were around him,' Nicole Morris said.
Morris' son Kemar Hinkson is a member of the inaugural group along with Felicia's son Grayson Crouch.
'As the year went on, we kind of grew together as brothers. The unity was great,' Hinkson said.
'We're not used to being in boardrooms in suits … As we kept doing it month by month, we got used to it. It's kind of like second nature to us now,' Grayson said.
The high school boys in 10th grade through 12th grade commit to a 10-month leadership program where participants meet for two hours one Saturday a month. They often meet in a boardroom setting.
'We not only bring the CEOs into the space … We also want to take them back to their spaces,' Felicia said.
'The Masters League gave me the opportunity to take an internship with DAVENPORT Engineering here in Winston-Salem, so that just really opened my eyes toward civil engineering,' Grayson said.
Hinkson says the skills he's learned through participating in the YMCA's Youth & Government have been invaluable.
'I just love how we came together, and we got our bill passed, so that was really great. I love that,' he said.
Morris says the investment has been worth it.
'I'm a middle school counselor … One of the pieces that I saw right off the bat was that there was a level of excellence that I have yet to see in other programs,' she said.
'We're in a space where you need to be extraordinary and that is our goal: … take each student from mediocrity to extraordinary in everything they do,' Felicia said.
Registration is open for the 2025-2026 session. Details are available on the organization's website.
The Masters League's goal is to touch the lives of more than 20,000 students in the next five years.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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