MICHAEL MICHAEL CHERTOFF MICHAEL ... - Kean University

ALUMNI
A S S O C I A T I O N
My School. My Life. My Kean.
GILDA ROGERS ’99:
ACTIVIST, AUTHOR,
EDUCATOR, MENTOR
Gilda Rogers’ biography
reads like an entry in
Who’s Who. As chief
executive officer of The Beyond
Group, LLC public relations firm
and program director for the
School-Based Youth Services Program
mental-health facility at Red
Bank (N.J.) Regional High
School, this Kean ’99 alumna has
also recently written a book, Arrested
Development: The State of
Black Achievement and Education in
Hip-Hop America.
While attending Kean, Rogers honed her writing skills as editor-inchief
of The Independent. After graduating, she continued on the
competitive path of journalism as a writer and editor for the Asbury
Park Press.
A defining moment for Rogers during her tenure at Kean was meeting
Kevin Powell, activist and senior writer at VIBE magazine, during
Unity Week. “He was the one who inspired my activist spirit. I
was the journalist who covered the Unity event, and it left an indelible
mark on me,” Rogers said. She also met the recognized author
and activist Tony Medina.
Among her heroes, Rogers counts Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel. “In
an English literature class, I first read the book Night,” Rogers said. “This
great humanitarian became a hero of mine and I had the good fortune
to meet him last summer.”
Today, Rogers finds great satisfaction in seeing the young people in her
youth program grow. “The best part of mentoring is when the light bulb
goes on,” Rogers said. “It brings me a lot of joy to see those who go off
to college keeping in touch with me over the years. I've mentored students
from all races and backgrounds. To see them experiencing life to
the fullest is a beautiful thing, especially when so many thought they
couldn’t overcome certain circumstances.”
KEANFOCUS • VOLUME 1, ISSUE 7 Page 4