By Kayla Smith
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Students should not become victims of their circumstances or be afraid to take risks if they hope to reach their dreams, the winner of a reality TV show on BET said during a speech at Towson University last Friday.
Krystal Garner, who grew up poor but now works as the general manager of the Trap Music Museum in Atlanta, said students can do anything with their college degrees, even if it’s not in the field of study.
She urged student to write their own obituaries as a way to identify the things they hope to one day be remembered for.
“I know it’s weird and you don’t want to think about it, but you should,” said Garner, who won BET’s reality show “The Grand Hustle” in 2018. “Then you will know how you want people to talk about you when you’re gone.”
The show was created by Grammy-winning recording artist and entrepreneur “T.I” Harris.
Garner was the keynote speaker at the Black Student Leader Conference, which was held at Towson on March 8th. The speech was given at the West Village Commons on Towson University campus.
Garner said she didn’t have much when she was a child growing up in Staten Island, New York, adding that friends told her that the only way out of her poor neighborhood was through sports or rapping.
But that didn’t work out so well at first. Garner said her basketball career ended when she tore her ACL while playing college basketball. Despite that setback, Garner said she had to find a new way to stay in school and re-brand herself.
“With my basketball career gone, I realized my purpose was helping others,” Garner said.
Garner told her audience that “the dash” on one’s gravestone, which represents the period between the day a person is born and the day they die, is the sum total of one’s life. Make sure that dash means something toward a meaningful legacy, Garner said as she encouraged students to go after their dreams no matter what challenges they may face.
She told students they should not jump into the first job that comes along after college just because it has great benefits and pay. Unless it’s something that fulfills a passion, Garner said, students may find themselves unhappy in their work and life.
She said she was able to follow her dreams because she is “comfortable being uncomfortable.” For her, Garner said, being uncomfortable meant leaving her job and retirement plan and not being able to pay her rent.
She said she reached her goals by setting specific and measurable steps. It was this process, she said, that helped her to win BET’s “The Grand Hustle” and become the manager of the Trap Music Museum.
Garner said she was uncomfortable for a period of time and had a sacrifice to become a six-figure earner. She is now living her dream because she was strong enough to suffer for a greater outcome, she said.
Garner told students when she dies, she wants people to say that she was a fighter who never gave up. She credits her success to God and understanding what she wanted her life and legacy to represent.
Junior Ellis Barret, a criminal justice major, said he liked Garner because her speech was confirmation that he is doing what he needs to do.
Another student, Lanise Tate, a junior who is majoring in computer science, said he was inspired by the speech.
“I’m excited to continue exploring who I am and finding my purpose in life,” Tate said.