The Dr. Vibe Show™: Joshua J. Rivers

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To celebrate National Mentoring Month in the United States, Techbook Online Corporation — in partnership with The Good Men Project, The Dr. Vibe Show and the Southeastern Pennsylvania CARES, an affiliate of the National CARES Mentoring Movement — launches a two-month campaign to improve media coverage and public perceptions of African-American men and boys.

As part of our support of this initiative, The Dr. Vibe Show will be having live conversations various Black mentors.

Our next conversation in this series was with Joshua J. Rivers.

Joshua Rivers is a Southwest Philadelphia native, a 2004 William Penn High School Graduate, and a 2008 graduate of Penn State University at University Park, Pennsylvania, where he majored in Labor and Employment Relations with a minor in Business Management. In 2010, he attained a Certificate in Ministerial Leadership. One year later, Joshua published his first book, Birthed to Be a King, at the age of twenty-three.

He is currently enrolled in Palmer’s Theological Seminary, where he has a dual Masters concentration in Clinical Social Work and Divinity.

At the age of twenty-three, Joshua established an organization which began servicing the community of Southwest Philadelphia by providing free and low-cost activities for young men between the ages of 6-18. Some of these activities included basketball camps, clinics, tournaments, college tours, and seminars. Three years into existence, FOCUSED International Incorporated has partnered with United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern Jersey to establish best practices for mentoring young men of color.

Some of his greatest accomplishments include being named William Penn High School’s Gatorade Male Athlete of the Year (2004), publishing his first book, Birthed to Be A King (2011), earning the Federal Executive Board’s Bronze Award for Outstanding Community Service (2011), and graduating from the prestigious Department of Defense Civilian Emergent Leadership Program (2012) as a Project Lead.

During our conversation, Joshua talked about:

– shares some of his past and what life was like growing up in southwest Philadelphia
– What did “the hood”, “old heads” and others taught him while he was growing up
– How Basketball has been one of his greatest teachers and how it has helped him throughout his life
– How he overcame growing up without a father
– His experience attending Penn State University and how he overcame the challenges he encountered during that time
– Why he choose to study ministry in college
– The story behind his book “Birth To Be A King”
– The story behind his mentoring organization, FOCUS (Forgiving Our Circumstances Uplifting Success Through Education and Development) International
– What are young Black men are telling him
– What does mentorship mean to him
– How Black parents need to know about the about the importance of mentorship in young Black mens lives
– A special success story
– Why it is important for Black men to mentor younger Black men
– “What does he do when he fails?”
– What role does mentorship play in his marriage

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God bless, peace, be well and keep the faith,
Dr. Vibe
info@blackcanadianman.com
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