We’ve all heard someone tell a story of going from rags to riches and beating the odds of adversity. But Jamila’s story, excuse us, DR. Davis’s story is one of superior elevation despite willingly making mistakes. Her story casts a shimmer of hope that with hard work, humility and a support system behind you- you can accomplish ANYTHING.
Let’s put it in perspective for those who are not familiar with Jamila’s story. In 2008 Jamila was sentenced to 12 ½ years in Federal Prison for committing bank fraud against Lehman Brothers Bank and Commerce North America Bank….at the age of 25! 12 ½ years! 12 ½ years!!! “Davis was labeled by Lehman attorneys as the 25-year-old mastermind who devised an elaborate mortgage scheme that defrauded their bank of 22 million dollars.” When you hear those numbers, your heart automatically drops to the pits of your stomach. But for Jamila, it was the battery in her back towards building a successful empire- and that started while incarcerated.
During prison, Jamila received her Associates in Psychology, Bachelors’s in Christian Education, and Masters in African American Ministry! Listen, some of us can’t even get through high school! She also authored over a dozen books including the “High Price I Had To Pay” Book series which led to co-founding WomenOverIncarated which serves as a resource to help women successfully transition back into society after serving long prison terms.
Fast forward to 2021….Jamila is not only a best-selling author, she’s an activist, a motivational speaker, our CEO, and now Dr. Jamila T. Davis! On May 13th, Jamila received her PhD in Philosophy!
“You wanna know why this degree was so important to me? It’s because I needed to show myself and others who may be in the same shoes I was once in, that anything is possible. You can hit rock bottom and God can bounce you right back to the top.
Don’t sit on your dreams, and don’t sit on your potential. Instead, go for it, even if it scares you. Go for it, even if you feel unqualified. Go for it, you will come out better than before!”
No matter how far you’ve fallen in life, it’s never too late to recapture your dreams!
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