Graduating While Quarantined: Armond Hervey

Armond Hervey was raised in the Alive & Free family. His mom, Malorie Branch, and aunt, Evangela Brewster, are both college graduate alumni and we are happy to have him under our wing. He is on his way to Grambling State University after graduating from Hercules High School and we very excited to watch him continue his journey. But we must admit, his mom is even more excited. She shared, “I am so ecstatic for Armond’s graduation from high school. I remember during pregnancy, I found out that I having boy and I didn’t want him to be a statistic. I knew I had to make some changes, move out of low-income housing. I wanted to expose Armond to different avenues and pathways of life. ” 

“He wasn’t able to have a traditional graduation, it was kind of a bummer, but we were then inspired to be creative with the ways we celebrate such a monumental moment in his life. He put on his cap and gown to get his cap and gown to get his diploma holder from Hercules High; we were honking our horns and really excited. We then took him to take pictures. We’re going to have a drive-by graduation celebration at the end of the month and our church is also going to do a mock graduation.I want him to know we see his hard work through elementary, middle school and high school and we are proud that he pushed through all of it.”

Mom, Malorie Branch, Armond Hervey, and Aunt Evangela Brewster.

“Alive & Free got his wheels going a little more. I try not to pressure him into sharing, to let him share on his own. I wanted him to feel free. He’s very vocal. He would say ‘I am grateful for my life, some of my peers don’t have what I have, their life is challenging.’ He would share about the speakers. There’s some grounding that happens with his Tuesday and Thursdays nights at Omega that I can’t give him. Some of the learning comes from his peers. It’s been an additional reinforcement that adds to the foundation of what I built for him, even during Covid.  I think when they say it takes a village, it’s our church, Alive & Free, and family. He’s getting different pieces from each path. Now he is on his way to majoring in accounting with a minor in business.”

Congratulations Armond!