Professor Simmons Featured in The Journal of College Admissions

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Professor Simmons was featured in the Winter 2015 issue of The Journal of College Admissions. The article, The Social Capital Deficit, profiles Simmons dedication to his nonprofit group, the Simmons Memorial Foundation.

“Its been nearly two decades since Omari Scott Simmons founded a small nonprofit to honor the memory of his mother and brother, who died a month apart in the fall of 1995.

“Simmons was a law student at the Unviersity of Pennsylvaina when, in their honor, he began to organize the Simmons Memorial Foundation, which provides college consulting and mentoring for underrepresented students in southern Delaware. For Simmons, memorializing his mother, an elementary school teacher, and his brother, a recent college graduate, meant working to improve the education system in his home state.”

Read more online.

Professor Simmons featured in Wake Forest Magazine titled Portraits of Pro Humanitate

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Professor Simmons is featured in Wake Forest Magazine in a section titled Portraits of Pro Humanitate. In this photographic feature, Wake Forest Magazine profiles Professor Simmons’ work with the Simmons Memorial Foundation:

His cause: He is co-founder and executive director of the Simmons Memorial Foundation, which encourages underrepresented students from North Carolina and rural Delaware to attend college.

“My nonprofit work has focused on providing a foundation of encouragement for all students. To perform this critical function, you don’t need an advanced degree, an elected office or success in the business world. It simply takes a willingness to encourage others plus the ability to empathize and understand the people you are assisting. My father best described our work: ‘We’re lifting others on our shoulders, giving them the chance to climb over a fence to face brighter possibilities and educational opportunities.’ We do this recognizing that we may never get over the fence and actually see what is on the other side. For example, I may never go to Harvard or Yale, find a cure for cancer or be president, but I know these students can. Ultimately, we must challenge them to be their best and fulfill their potential even when they don’t see it. Our satisfaction comes from knowing that students have traveled farther and benefited from the assistance we offer.”

View the feature online.