Kevin Boyd is an Evergreen Park native, born on October 23, 1994. During his early childhood, Boyd moved around quite a bit, attending schools in South Chicago, all the way to the South Suburbs. From Pre-K to third grade, Boyd describes his life up to that point as being filled with “constant change.”
Because he moved around so much as a child, Boyd was forced to focus more on developing his social skills rather than his educational skills. Boyd describes how growing up, he was often told by his peers, guardians, and teachers that he was very smart but “didn’t apply himself to his studies.”
Barely getting by, and even almost failing out of high school, Boyd continued his educational career as an average, to low performing student until right before the end of his high school career, when he turned his life around.
Boyd describes how the turning point of his life was the transition that he experienced moving from Morgan Park High School to Rich Central High School. During his time at Morgan Park High School, Boyd described his time there as “merely playing catch-up.” Suffering the effects from being uninterested in performing well in school, Boyd became involved in the wrong crowd and had no intention of getting good grades, let alone going to college after high school.
This all changed, however, when Boyd underwent another change by moving from Morgan Park to Rich Central High School. As Boyd states, “When I moved to Rich Central, for the first time in my life, I met counselors and academic advisors that were interested in my success after high school.” This positive change affected Boyd and inspired him to turn his life around. After almost failing out of high school during his sophomore year, Boyd became a straight A student and applied himself to his studies for the first time. In the words of Boyd, “I established a core group of friends and finally grew into myself.”
After graduating from Rich Central in 2012, Boyd went on to begin his college career at Prairie State College. While attending PSC as a full time student, Boyd also held a part time job at Menards. Boyd describes this time in his life as the first time he had the opportunity to “discipline” himself and really learn responsibility in managing a job and being a student. Boyd was also very involved in community college, as a member of the Psychology Honors Society.
After earning his associates degree, Boyd transferred to Alabama State University to earn his bachelor’s degree. Still maintaining an impressive academic standing, Boyd describes how he met a professor at Alabama State who encouraged him to look into going to a renowned HBCU (historically black college/university), Howard University, to continue his education.
Convinced, Boyd decided to go to Howard university, where he is now, 3 months away from earning his PhD in Neuropsychology. Boyd attributes his success to the never-ending support that he received from his mother, his sister, and mentors that have encouraged him from the very beginning.
Kevin Boyd is living proof of how hard work and dedication can take you to places you never thought you’d go. In the words of Kevin Boyd, “Prairie State was a stepping stone for me and really prepared me to enter a four year university. The slogan, ‘Start Near, Go Far,’ is a perfect representation of my story.”
