“We mentor, we empower, we grind”

Project Greatness Resides In Nonstop Dedication (better known as Project G.R.I.N.D), a young men’s mentorship organization at Syracuse University, was founded in 2014 by SU students and POSSE Foundation scholars Jacob Freison Grant ‘16, Tony Wright Jr. ‘16, Demarquez “Black” Grissom ‘17, Bilal Vaughn ‘17, David L. Jackson ‘17, and Hernz Laguerre Jr. ’16.

The mission of Project G.R.I.N.D is to reach out to young men and boys in Syracuse and mentor them on topics such as peer pressure, manhood, and developing good study habits.

The founders were motivated to create Project G.R.I.N.D. because they understand the great impact and importance of positive role models in their own lives. They would not be in the positions that they are today without positive role models. Today, they hope to do the same for others.

“We really wanted to help the kids with in communities that were struggling,” said Vaughn. “These kids all have potential, but it’s hard to reach it if you’re constantly told that you’re bad or that you’re not good enough.”

Although the vision to create an organization sounds inspiring, it was anything but simple. The founders became aware of this during the early phases of establishing Project G.R.I.N.D.

“We set up a constitution which took a lot of time and went under a lot of revisions,” said Vaughn. “We realized that our early drafts didn’t meet our standards or the standards of Syracuse University.”

The Office of Student Activities actually denied Project G.R.I.N.D’s first request to become a registered student organization (RSO). Though their initial rejection came as a disappointment, Vaughn believes that it was secretly a “blessing in disguise.”

According to Vaughn, the denial gave the founders an opportunity to really dive deep into figuring out what the organization wanted to stand for and how it would distinguish itself from similar organizations.

“What really motivated us and kept our commitment strong was knowing that we were doing it for the kids. It wasn’t for us, it wasn’t for SU — it was for them,” Vaughn said. “Had we given up on the youth, it would have been similar to the government giving up on poverty-stricken communities—and for us that just wasn’t an option,” said Vaughn.

Grant stated that in the end, by maintaining a positive attitude and having nonstop dedication, Project G.R.I.N.D officially became a registered student organization.

“It was definitely one of my proudest moments,” said Vaughn. “The most important thing is just seeing the lives that we’ve impacted and knowing that we’ve truly made a difference.”