‘A blessing in my life:’ 5000 Role Models program celebrates 30 years of empowerment

You can’t miss the red ties.

They’re just one of the symbols of success for the young men involved each year in a treasured Miami organization, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence.

But there’s much more to this program than tie and crisp white shirt. There’s mentorship, camaraderie, tradition. And also gratitude.

SUCCESS STORIES

At 15, George Ray was at a crossroads in life. But he took control of his future when he was introduced to the 5000 Role Models of Excellence program.

Now, the initiative is celebrating its 30th anniversary. And on Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, dozens of MiamiDade high school seniors will be honored once again in a ceremony, where they’ll leave with a scholarship. The 5000 Role Models of Excellence breakfast event will be in person for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now 40, Ray is an accomplished professional living in a Miami Beach apartment he could only dream of when he was a kid. He graduated from South Dade Senior High School in 2001 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Talladega College in Alabama, an MBA from Florida International University and a professional certification from Georgetown University.

He is a business consultant with FIU and teaches at Miami-Dade College.

“Within the program, I was able to find that exposure that I needed, someone who cared, people who recognized my true potential,” Ray said. “It’s not that I was bad. I was misguided.”

Now a mentor with the program, Ray sees himself in this new generation. Their potential. Their hope. Their promise. And he can see their progress. Ray met one of the boys he mentors in middle school, four years ago. Now the teen is Ray’s student at FIU.