Born into one of the roughest neighborhoods in Plainfield, New Jersey, Schuylar Davis has persevered in order to achieve his goals and inspire others to reach theirs.
With the odds being stacked against him in every way, Davis showed
resilience and strayed away from the negative influences surrounding him. He
prioritized making the most out of his education and avoiding the streets to
have a successful future.
“In Plainfield, you were forced to be very vigilant due to the
violence that occurred throughout the day,” he said. “My mom wanted me to go
straight home after school and do my homework. She did not want me to be out in
the streets anytime of the day.”
Despite growing up in a rough community, Davis was able to
establish a deep attachment to his hometown. Realizing that his community
lacked the necessary resources for successful growth, Davis became heavily
involved in his community, as he wants to help the inner city youth succeed as
he did.
Davis has participated in many rallies and protests within his
community and school. One of the main goals he has is to be involved in the
community he is in whether it is at home, school, etc.
“The biggest crime anyone can commit is not doing anything when
someone needs to be helped or when something needs to be done,” Davis says.
Davis is now a junior at Rutgers University majoring in English
with a minor in Africana studies. He aspires to have a career in teaching,
particularly within middle or high school.
Davis’ passion in teaching English comes from his English education
in middle and high school. Davis described his experiences as “boring” and
“forgettable”. He understands that many view English as a boring subject but he
wants to change that perception and make it enjoyable for kids to learn.
“Speaking and writing proper and fluent English is something that
everyone needs to achieve. Nobody will ever take you serious in the business
world especially in a job interview if you are speaking slang.” Davis says.
Davis strives to be a positive influence for everyone,
especially the youth. He wants to embrace the older brother role to the youth
to help them make the right decisions to improve their communities.
This past summer, Davis served as a peer mentor for high
school seniors who were going to be freshmen in college. He showed them how to
maneuver within the Rutgers campus while giving them advice on handling the
pressures that every college student has endured.
Aside from his education and upbringings, Davis is also a
very cautious person when it comes to his diet. After going 19 years of eating
meat, he decided to stop and convert to being a full-time vegan.
“Initially the decision to go vegan was extremely difficult
for me but now I have no regrets doing it. I
feel lighter and I have more energy throughout the day since I changed my diet.
After seeing my own progress, I want to convince my peers to join as well.
Maintaining a healthy diet will lead toward having a successful life in every
aspect” Davis says.
Life early on may not have been the easiest for Davis but
he decided to make the best out of his circumstances to get to where he is now.
Raised in the inner city of Plainfield, New Jersey, Davis
was exposed to a great deal of circumstances that the average person may never
experience.
“In my neighborhood, many resorted to violence from a lack
of resources such as money, food, and good schooling. Without these
necessities, the chances of succeeding become slim to none.” Davis says.
Davis understood that in order to achieve his goals and
improve his community, he had to be different from what he saw in his hometown.
Overall, he proved to make the right decisions as his journey led him to
attending Rutgers and has him on the path for more success for him and his
community as well.
