Marcus Phillips Jr. 

I was born and raised in Las Vegas, a huge West Coast guy, but I grew up with Southern traditions. Both sides of my family are from “The Boot,” Louisiana. I grew up humbly raised by a single mother, plus three siblings, all of whom were from different fathers. As an inner-city kid, I saw many bad things and did not have much of a designated role model.

In turn, I took what I saw and learned to do the opposite. I chose not to ever touch a drink or indulge in substance abuse because I saw what it had done to my people and peers. I saw how my people acted off of each other– fights, aggression, verbal abuse, financial abuse, the list goes on. Unfortunately, I felt how hard it was to struggle. Moving from house to house, splitting up from my siblings, and staying with different family members until shortly before high school. It was not just missing meals. Habitually, I found joy in home by navigating hardships and making the best of any situation I was put in. Producing the birth of my innate versatility.

I chose to maximize school because I saw a lot of dropouts. I decided to fight for straight A’s and be an honors/AP student because I hadn't seen many people look like me in those more honorable courses/classrooms. I felt the need to stand out and not stand in– line. I saw myself as the golden child who could defeat the generational courses I was born into.

Of course, it was formulated from the historical obstacles that people of color endured– but I have always seen both sides of life. I chose to be above my circumstances, eliminating the victim mindset that continues to leak into today’s underprivileged society.

Me, I breathe versatility and likability. I was able to supersede my upbringing by using my hardships, like financial insecurity, to develop skills like cutting my hair since we couldn't afford a barber. This led me to Fox 5 Las Vegas because the Walk-On college football Wide Receiver is cutting his teammates' hair to make ends meet, all while being a full-time student while maintaining a 3.5+ GPA (3x dean's list honoree) and demonstrating excellence on the football field by becoming a starter! It was even more straightforward, like in high school, when I sacrificed hanging out during my lunch break to work in the cafeteria to have more access to food. Or giving up my free elective period to hit that one-hour mark in addition to the 30 minute work period during lunch to take home 8.25$ + 4.13$ home a day. This same kid who did not receive a Division I football scholarship out of high school but still made his way to play for three different Division I programs– becoming a starter at each and finishing out with three different degrees in 6 years.

I am ambition, hard work, discipline, and versatility. I am different and have always been the light in a dark room.

I live to be an outlet and inspiration for kids born into similar circumstances. Guiding them on a way out of the endless loop. Like my big dream of opening a legitimate community center for the youth. Not just a YMCA. I want a place where kids can be safe away from home—featuring activities and rooms catering to things that are not just curriculum-based: cosmetology, barbering, videography, photography, gaming, music, audio engineering, and more. I want a place where the kids can be hands-on with equipment or things they may not have access to at home—after school, giving them beneficial hours of positive reinforcement. Starting with an hour of decompression, giving them the choice of athletic activity/yoga/mindset training. The benefit of fitness, meditation, and body-to-mind connection speaks for itself. This lets them engage in small physical activities that stimulate the mind and the body, releasing the tension and energy they may have gotten from a long day or troubles at home. Another hour of homework reinforces the importance of academic excellence. Letting them work with tutors and get help they may not be able to afford. And lastly, the rest of the day is spent playing and enjoying their interests! Weekends would be filled with field trips, showing them that there is life outside of the margins that they were born into. Things like this are what I live for and have big goals for.