Hawkins, Purnell Relish the Opportunity to Learn

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State wide receiver Brenen Hawkins and defensive back Desmond Purnell were recently granted a grand opportunity, as the redshirt freshman teammates attended the Men of Color National Summit at the Greenville Convention Center in Greenville, South Carolina.

Boasting the slogan, "Building Bridges to Success for African-American and Hispanic Males," the national convention on April 21 and 22 was attended by approximately 2,400 high school and college students, business professionals, educators, government officials and community leaders from across the country.

The summit made a sizable impact upon Hawkins and Purnell with the theme "win at life" underscored during various keynote speeches, according to Hawkins.

"It was a great help to hear from all the CEOs because they've been through it all, and they inspire us that we can do it, too," Hawkins said. "Really all the speakers said it: They never gave up. No matter how many times they failed in life, they kept going. No matter how many times you fail, you keep going and you keep working hard."

Added Purnell: "They've already been through what we're going through, and they're creating the pathway for us and teaching us. We knew everybody was there for the same reason."

The summit featured keynote speeches by Ted Colbert, President and CEO of Defense, Space and Security, The Boeing Company; U.S. Congressman Jim Clyburn; Brian Heat, Amazon best-selling author; Jose Hernandez, NASA Engineers and former Space Shuttle mission STS-128 Astronaut; Marc Morial, President and CEO of National Urban League; Roland Martin, Host and Managing Editor of Roland Martin Unfiltered; Jeffrey Brown, President and CEO of Ally Financial; Michael Strautmanis, Executive Vice President of Public Engagement for The Obama Foundation; Derrick Gragg, Vice President for Athletics and Recreation at Northwestern University; and Michael Eric Dyson, Professor at Vanderbilt University.

"One of my favorite quotes was from Ted Colbert," Purnell said. "He said, 'It's best to build relationships and to impart to others what you know.'"

What most impacted Hawkins during the convention?

To never give up.

"I've been put into a position where my parents preached to me every day about what to do and what not to do and never giving up," Hawkins said. "No matter how hard the days get, you keep going. No matter how many times you fail in football or in school, just keep going. The speakers touched on that, to never stop. They discussed the people you hang out with. Basically, I want to be around successful people who have the same goals or who are trying to reach that next-level goal. I'm working on surrounding myself with successful people."

Hawkins and Purnell were accompanied at the convention by Julian Jones, K-State Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development and Chief Diversity Officer; and Andre Bean, K-State Assistant Director of the Evans Competitive Advantage Program.

"We want to help create leaders and make sure we have leaders at K-State and in the athletic department and help them to have tools to bring it back to their peers," Jones said. "It's important to make sure we're continuing to help build leaders. It's always good to be able to hear it from other people and to meet people and see what they're going through and help them become leaders in that way."

Prior to coming to K-State, Jones served as Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development at Clemson University where he focused mostly on career and professional development and diversity and inclusion initiatives. He earned his master's degree in Youth Development Leadership from Clemson in 2019. He also served as a Postgraduate Intern in the Office of Inclusion at the NCAA Headquarters from 2016-17.

This was Jones' third time attending the convention and the first time for Bean.

"One of the things that stood out to me was when Jose Hernandez mentioned that he applied for NASA and he failed 11 times before he received his position," Bean said. "A lot of times, people will go for something and not achieve that success level, and then they try it again and by the third time they typically stop. The fact that he did that 11 times was impressive. He also said that after failing for the sixth time, he started to do some self-reflection, career advising, some of the work that we do.

"We're big on self-discovery, especially for our student-athletes. At a Power 5 institution like Kansas State, they work on that identity crisis, so it was good for these young brothers to hear that and start to dig into themselves and see themselves as more than just being defined as athletes."

Hawkins, a native of Coffeyville, Texas, aspires to someday take over his family's business.

"I wanted to hear all the CEOs talk," he said. "I wanted to hear what every speaker had to say to make sure I'm doing the right things. After school, I want to go to the NFL, but after that, I've been blessed that my family has a business, so I'm going to take over that."

Purnell said the summit "definitely boosted my confidence" and provided a key life lesson in the process.

"I have to believe in myself," he said, "and be comfortable being uncomfortable."

Purnell, a graduate of Hayden High School in Topeka, hopes to someday give back to the younger generation.

"I just want to make sure in the future I reach out to all the young people," he said, "and let them know how to keep going every single day, make sure they have faith in what they do, and believe in themselves."

It's important, too, to savor the entirety of the process. That's what keeps Jones going back to the summit each year.

"It's the people, the community," he said. "It's good to see other people who look like you being successful and doing successful things. Derrick Gragg — you have some speakers that you look up to in the athletic world that you can see yourself being. This conference is more of the higher education side of things, but it's important to go back and see people who look like you and are doing great things.

"Dr. Gragg said, 'Win at life, celebrate your wins, and turn up. It's OK to celebrate when you win. That was huge for me. He said to never forget where you came from and to embrace the process and to never stop pursuing education. Continue to educate yourself — go to a conference like this."

Hawkins and Purnell made the most of their opportunity.

"I'm extremely proud of them," Jones said. "I can't wait to see all the success they have at K-State, whether it's on the field or in life, and just being able to follow them forever after this. I'm really proud of them. I wanted to let Coach Chris Klieman know he has two really great young men on his team who have really great leadership capabilities."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Brenen Hawkins

Desmond Purnell

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