Jasmine Pollard is the first in her family to go to college.
Pollard, an aspiring singer, didn’t see the point of education because her goals were focused on fame.
But that’s the thinking of the Jasmine Pollard from 2006, when she was 14 and aimless.
Now 22, Pollard is preparing for her final semester at Georgia Southern University, where she will graduate with a degree in marketing and public relations.
And she still hopes to be a professional singer.
Pollard is one of the 21,000 students who have come in contact with Usher’s New Look, the private, nonprofit charity founded by the Atlanta-based R&B star in 1999 that is established in Detroit, New York and Milwaukee as well as Usher’s hometown.
On July 31, during the foundation’s 15th anniversary celebration and President’s Circle Awards luncheon at the St. Regis Atlanta, Pollard, along with fellow New Look youth leader Mary-Pat Hector, will receive Global Youth Leadership awards.
“I’m still in shock,” Pollard said about the honor. “My mom was so proud. I’m so happy that I get to share it with her.”
During the ceremony, Usher will present Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed with New Look’s Service Legacy Award. Fellow Atlantan Ludacris will host, and the event will include a performance by Josh Kaufman, season six winner of “The Voice,” who was mentored by Usher on the show.
Throughout its existence, the New Look program has used four “pillars” to teach kids about finding their passion and becoming leaders: talent, education, career and service.
Gavin McGuire, the interim president of New Look (he’ll become chief operating officer within the next month), points to education as one of the organization’s strongest offerings.
“For the last three years, we’ve maintained a 100 percent graduation rate for our high school students (involved in New Look). We’re proud that we provide our students with the tools necessary to develop their post-secondary education and to properly enter their career field and find their passion,” said McGuire, a nine-year New Look veteran who started there as a camp director. “It’s funny, I’ve seen these kids go from middle school to being the first in their family to graduate, and they’ve seen me go from the camp guy in shorts to interim president to COO. So we’ve kind of grown together.”
That familial environment is what hooked Pollard as a teen, though she admits with a laugh that the appeal of joining New Look’s camp had much to do with the particular celebrity attached to it.
"I was obviously a huge Usher fan," she said. "But then he talked a lot about wanting us to learn the business side of the music industry, and that seemed like a good idea to me. The first time we saw him, he didn't really seem like a celebrity anymore, so it was easy to take that lesson that you don't have to be just a singer or just a basketball player, that there are so many other ways to be involved in the entertainment industry and that you have to make sure that you have a brand and that you're not just working for somebody."
Those lessons have guided Pollard as she navigates her academic journey as well as professional dreams.
“Being (at New Look) has shown me that there can be something you want to do and still get an education,” she said. “People ask me why I’m not in the voice program or music program. But I was always more interested in not just being a performer, but learning to handle my business. It’s easy to learn from Usher because we don’t see him as Usher anymore. He’s an example of someone for us to look up to in every aspect.”
