Welcome to "On Par with the President." Joining me today is a
true five-star student. Antavion "Tay" Moore is an LSU
Ogden Honors college student. He is also the state's first
John Robert Lewis Scholar. Tay is a junior from Ringgold, Louisiana,
studying political science and music. He is also a Louisiana Service
and Leadership Scholar. Well, we're gonna tee off
with a couple questions. In high school, not only did you
have a 4.0 gpa, but I understand you earned two associate degrees. Where did y
ou get the passion and drive
to engage in education in that way? I grew up in Ringgold, Louisiana,
which is a small town in northwest Louisiana, um, around 1,300 people. And though we were small and rural, um,
and we didn't have much, I always grew up in an atmosphere that was conducive to
learning and pursuing educational goals. Um, both of my parents worked full-time. They were extremely young when I was
born and so I would ride the bus each afternoon to my great-grandparents
house, Granny and
Grandpa. As I would get off the bus and walk in
the house, I'd be sure to hear Granny say, "Well, hey, Tay, how was school?" I'd say, "it was good." And she'd say, "Alrighty then,
well you get at that table and you get on your lesson." And that meant it was
time to do schoolwork. And so they established this system
every day where after I would come from school, the first thing
that I would do was my schoolwork. And they always expected me to have
a book that I was reading as well. And they wou
ld always support
me at all school events that my parents couldn't be there, I knew
that they would always be there. And some of my other grandparents as well. And then at school, my aunt was our
elementary school secretary and you talk about a woman who knew how to
put kids in line and some parents too. And so I was never offered
the privilege that some are extended to act up at school. And she always taught me as well to
do my best and to respect my teachers. And by the time I got in
junior hi
gh, my mom became a paraprofessional at the school. So I was surrounded on all ends
by people who were at the school. And all of my teachers pushed me
academically and they noticed that I was inclined to come to topics early. Um, but they never gave me busy work. They would always go a grade
above or always give me something more challenging and pushed me. And my high school guidance counselor, Mr. Timothy Williams, um, had started
a partnership with Bossier Parish Community College that would o
ffer me the
opportunity to go there to begin taking dual enrollment courses because frankly,
I'd learned everything that I could learn in the four walls of my school. We had a fully funded
dual enrollment program. I didn't have to worry about paying
for any of my classes or coursework, but the only issue was transportation. I had to have a way to be there. And Ringgold was an hour from
Bossier Parish Community College. And so when that time came and
the conversation arose, you know, how was I go
nna get there? Well, guess who stepped up to the plate? Granny, Grandpa had passed away by that
time, and my great-grandmother, who never received a high school diploma,
drove me every day to the community college so that I would be able to
achieve and receive education there. So I was always surrounded by a community
that instilled in me the purpose of education, realizing that there were so
many before me, especially in my family, that weren't given the opportunities
that I was to pursue an ed
ucation. And so I had an obligation to do my best. The parable is still true,
that it takes a village and I'm simply a product of that village. That's an amazing story
about community and family. Thank you for sharing that, that, that is
actually moving, um, to hear that story. So you're at LSU. How did you, how did you pick us? Why are you here? Yes. You know, this is where the
conversation gets a bit funny. Um, I never planned on attending LSU. Actually, our state 4-H conference
was always her
e, 4-H University was always here at, on, um, the Baton
Rouge campus during the summer. And from my experiences on LSU during
high school, even with literary rally, it was a beautiful campus, but it
was so large and I never thought that I'd be able to find community here. And so I, and so throughout high
school I didn't know where I was going, but I knew where I was not going. And that was LSU. Well it came time, you know, decision
day is coming in my senior year and I applied to a bunch of diff
erent colleges. And, I also entertained the notion
of maybe attending an Ivy League, and the only Ivy League institution
I was accepted into was Columbia. And as you know, Columbia's
in New York City and this was in the heat of the pandemic. And my dad, who served 15 years
in the National Guard and two, um, terms overseas, who's a pretty stern
fella told me straight up that I was not going to New York for college. So I settled and I said, you know, well
since I don't know what to do, given my e
xperiences in, in 4-H, um, I'll just
go to the institution that can offer me the best possible education in state. And that's how I ended up at LSU. Wow. Now, you mentioned you were
active with 4-H for years. How, how did you first
get involved with 4-H? And how does that organization
help you with your goals? Yes, so as I said, you know, small
rural town, um, rural school and 4-H was the only club that was
offered at our elementary school. And I can remember having teachers,
one in particular t
hat would even say, if you don't have the money and the
$7 to join 4-H, I will gladly pay. Everyone was expected to join 4-H
because the teachers wanted a break. In my first club meeting in elementary,
you know, went to my first club meeting and learned about 4-H,
ended up being voted as the club president and it just blew my mind. And so I stayed active, um,
in 4-H throughout junior high, you know, in, in high school. And there were more clubs that, um,
that I eventually got engaged in. And 4-H
particularly taught me
a bunch that I could not learn in the traditional classroom. And basically it taught me how to
serve, how to lead and how to advocate. There was never a month that went by
where we did not work on a service project through 4-H or learn of ways
that we can impact our community. We were taught, you know, that though
we might not have had much, and though we might not have had all the
answers, we did have the potential as young people to make a change in our
community and to
serve the community. So we were always active
in service projects. And then leadership, when I got
in high school, I joined, well, I put my name on the ballot to join
the State Executive Board and was voted as a regional representative. And I would stay involved on the
executive board throughout high school and worked my ranks up, um, served as
the, as the historian reporter, later vice president and then president. And through my increased roles, I
learned a bunch about working with a team of
people, and there were also
national opportunities that I became involved in serving on the National 4-H
Congress Design Team, the pinnacle 4-H event, over 900 young people and adults
across the country convene in Atlanta. It's been going on for
over a hundred years. And, so it taught me how to serve
and lead, but most importantly, it taught me how to advocate. In my role as State 4-H President,
I was tasked with promoting the 4-H program and making sure that we had the
funding both politically
and you know, community-wise to continue the program. And I can't tell you how many school board
association meetings I had to go to, how many police jury meetings I had to go to. And so 4-H taught me to use my
voice and my experiences, not only to advocate for my life to be
better, but for other people, for more people to have access to 4-H. And then, as you know, I would
eventually be voted to the National 4-H Board of Trustees, the top governing
board for the national organization. And so 4-H
completely complimented
my academic career and changed the trajectory of my life. That's quite powerful. How, how do you balance being on
a national board and your academic work in political science and music? Sure thing. So logistically it, it takes
a bunch and I'm a terrible procrastinator, truth be told. I just am. And so I've become a bit proactive. At the beginning of this semester when
all the syllabi were posted, I went through the syllabi and I found what
days we were having exams, and
I put all of that information, any assignments
that were due, I put them in my Outlook calendar and I print that out. And I also carry around a mom planner,
and I like to call it my mom always had, you know, one of those huge planners with
the, with the large squares for each date. And I write down everything in there, but
I also, I'm privileged to have a council of moms is what I like to call them. Um, and a bunch of the ladies that,
particularly women in my life who have been influential in tr
aining me, you
know, through 4-H or through school, and I make sure that I keep them, um,
up to date on what's going on, and they know how to keep me in line and
make sure that I'm staying on task. Um, so that's the logistical side
of things, but philosophically, I've never viewed my activities
as separate from academics rather, um, complimentary or a necessary
part might I say, of my academics. And when I joined the National 4-H
Board of Trustees, when I was elected to the Board of Trustees, it
was really
an eye-opening experience, you know? I mean, just think about it. How does a 19 year old country kid
from Ringgold end up on the governing board of one of America's largest
youth development organizations sitting beside all these CEOs and university,
university presidents and all these distinguishable business professionals. To have that opportunity was
completely mind blowing and, and might I say, I loved it. I really did. And I gained, I gained
a council of mentors. I gained anothe
r family through being
on the board of trustees and gained some amazing career advice that I
wouldn't be able to get anywhere else. And that's just, and so everything that I
learned throughout there complimented my education and made it more practical and
showed me how the things that I'm learning here at LSU can be applied to the real
world and how they impact the masses. Well, help us understand. You're in political science and music. Why those majors and what
do you enjoy about them? I was in
itially a biological engineering
major when I came here to LSU and I majored in that for a year and a half. And I enjoyed the time there, but
I did not feel as passionate, might I say, um, about the studies there. And so I ended, I would eventually
end up changing to political science and music, but I've always seen both
political science and music, um, as mechanisms to advocate for social change. As we know public policy impacts every
facet of our life, think about it, um, especially here in Am
erica as a democracy. And also music in studying the
Civil Rights era, music has always played a critical role in uplifting
people's souls, but also saying things that could not be said plainly. And so through studying political
science and music, I've become a better person, I would say. And I've not only figured out who I
want, I've not only figured out what I want to do, but I've also figured
out who I want to be as a person. And that is an advocate. That's why I study those too. Well, I'm go
nna put you on the spot. Now, I presume, because you major
in music, you're a musician? Yes. What part of the music
fabric are you engaged in? Yeah, so I play piano, um, and
I've always been a church musician. I love gospel music. Really, it's the only music that I
listen to with the exception of jazz. Um, and so, and then I'm also, um, active
in jazz here, so getting to study with Dr. Deloney there, so I love that. So if you had to pick political
science, music, political science, music, you do
n't have to pick because
you're at LSU and we let you do both. But if you had to pick one or
the other, which would you pick? You know, that's a hard question,
and truthfully, I would have to say that I would still use both. I would still pick both, though
using music as a means to advocate for what I believe in. And I think that's attainable. You're locked in. Yes. I am.
I'm glad you said it that way. I love it. I love it. And I'm glad you're able to
major in both here at LSU. That's very speci
al. You are Louisiana's first participant
in a national leadership program created around the, you know, Faith
and Politics Institute and that's the John Robert Lewis Scholar Program. Um, give us some insight about how
you think about Representative Lewis. Yes. Um, being selected for this
program has been an extreme honor. And considering the life of Representative
Lewis, he has a very humble beginnings as we know growing up in Troy. However, I admire him most because
he gave his life, basically
, he put his life on the line for this pursuit
of creating a more perfect union and establishing and making sure that our
policies in society treated us, you and I, as members of the Black community, as
equal citizens, just like anyone else. And I always have, growing up with my
great-grandparents, um, with majority of the time, spending time with them,
always felt connected to the civil rights era, although I never lived there,
because I heard these stories every day. Black history didn't have
to be
taught in school because I was gonna hear it when I got home. And so to be able to study the life
of such a man who realized that our most pressing issue, the most critical
issue in America and in our nation, cannot be solved on a football field
or with any grant from the NIH. The most critical problem facing
society lies right here within the heart, and he dedicated his whole
life to personal transformation. Demonstrations were only 15%, or roughly
15%, of the civil rights movement. The r
est of the time was spent
organizing, fellowshipping with other people, creating community,
but also personal transformation. He believed in the principles
of nonviolence, and one of those principles is that nonviolence is a
way of life for courageous people. John, John Lewis didn't
just talk the talk. He walked the walk. And that's what I've enjoyed so much
with, about being able to study his life and hopefully pursue a life
of nonviolence just like he did. Thank you for that. Um, now you're in
the
program, what's that like? What do you, what, what, what do you
actually experience in the program? Yeah, so being in the program has
given us proximity to some of the civil rights icons that are still
with us today, and it's, it opens your eyes to the diversity of the civil
rights movement and the different role that all the individuals played. I can remember our first, one of our first
sessions, when I first became a John Lewis Scholar, was on music of the movement. And we learned about t
he different
songs of the civil rights era and how music, you know, was used as a
vehicle for change and the various musicians who played a role in that. And then to hear from leaders who
were artists, and so they used their skills to create comic books. They realized that the Black community
couldn't read a regular book to understand how the voting process worked or why
they needed to vote and the different elected offices that were in the county. And so they created these
comic books for them
to read. And then most recently, this past
Sunday, we had a call and we heard from a photographer, a photographer from the
movement who solely took pictures, in essence to make sure, um, that civility
was sustained and people were safe, but also to use those pictures as a means
to show other people what was going on, on the grounds and to be a voice. And then too, we know that there were
individuals who were active in the sciences and who played a role in making
sure that Blacks, um, forged a pa
th in academia through science exploration. It's been so nice getting that
proximity to see that everyone plays a different role, but no one's
role is any greater than the other. We just, we just play slightly different
ones, and so gaining proximity has been a great, um, part of the program. And also I would say, learning
these tenets of nonviolence. Behind everything that the civil rights,
um, movement portrayed outside, you know, in the streets, internally, they
spent a bunch of time trainin
g and realizing that the evil in the world is
not individual people, it's evil itself. And so studying those
principles of nonviolence has been so eye-opening for me. And then just the diversity
that's within our cohort. Some of us, you know, study
in the humanities and arts, but others study the sciences. And we're all in different levels too. Some of us are undergraduate
students, some are graduate students and some are career professionals. Um, but we're a cohort, we have that
cohort feel and
we're, we're a family and we've made a lifelong commitment. That's what I would say has been
most unique about this program. It's not just a year long fellowship. This is a lifelong commitment, and I'm
just excited to see what we're all able to accomplish together in the future. When I listen to you, I hear,
I hear the humanist in you. I hear the artist in you. I hear the social scientist in you. What, when you're thinking about
the remainder of your academic pursuits, what else do you wanna
ge
t accomplished on that front? Yes. You know, I, I've contemplated
sharing this, but I think I will. Six months before I was born, my
grandmother, my mom's mother was murdered, and Pastor Sapp approached
the pulpit to give the eulogy, and the title of his sermon was, "Can
There Any Good Come out of Ringgold?" Little did he realize that
I was in my mother's womb. And so that phrase has served
as a mantra for my family. According to the statistics
President Tate, I shouldn't be attending school he
re. I shouldn't have graduated with two
associate degrees, and I surely should not find myself sitting in the office
of the President, the first Black president of the SEC, but I serve a
God who specializes in the impossible. I'm thankful simply to just
not only be where I am today, but to still be moving forward. And truth be told, I have no idea
really what lies ahead for my future. But one thing I do know, much like
Paul said, I forget those things that lie behind and I press towards the
mark
of the prize of the high calling of God, which is in Christ Jesus. My purpose here for being at LSU
and what I hope to accomplish the remainder of my time here is not
solely just to win another award. That's been great. I appreciate that. But I didn't come just to win awards. I just, I didn't come just
to win a popularity contest. I came to make a difference
and I encourage as many people as I can to do the same. So that's what I hope to accomplish. And whether that means solely
being through p
olitical science and music or also studying other
areas, other, other disciplines. I'm taking Politics and Poverty this
semester, and the first two semesters, the first two weeks of the course have
focused on research methods and the intersection of psychology, bio, bio,
and biology in considering poverty. And so right there, there's
this cross-disciplinary study, even in political science. And even in studying
political theology with Dr. Eubanks. I'm in his class this semester, in
Ethical Reaso
n, Ethical Reasoning that goes across every discipline
that we offer on this institution. And so I look forward and
I hope to accomplish more cross-disciplinary activity where
we all work together in solving the problems that burden our state. Well said. Now I'm gonna ask you something
that's more difficult. So you've described a lot of
experiences that you've had here at LSU. Talk, talk to us a little bit about your,
your very top memories or experiences you've had as a student at LSU. Yes. You
know, this, this, this is a hard one. My most favorite experiences here at
LSU have been through service learning. As you know, as a land grant
institution, we're built on three pillars, teaching and research, but
my personal favorite, extension. And LSU has given me the great
opportunity to be active in service in the greater Baton Rouge area and beyond. As you know, I'm active in 4-H and serve
as Collegiate 4-H Co-President, and last semester we had a service learning
activity, um, in Abbevil
le, a grass, uh, marsh grass planting down in the swamps. And so directly relating,
you know, to coastal erosion. And I was pretty skeptical about
it because, like I said, I'm from North Louisiana and really, truly,
you know, we don't relate to the coast, so we think as, as much as,
um, as people who live down here. And so I was a bit apprehensive about
doing it, but you know, since I'm a leader of the club, I, I went along with it. And I'll tell you what, I had an amazing
time out there and I l
earned a bunch from the firsthand, um, experience that
I had in helping to restore the coast. Now, I must also say that I
do not have the best health and I'm really not that fit. And so I was extremely sore afterwards. Crawling in that mud is no joke. Um, but my most favorite experiences
here have been through service to the community like that. And I often, you know, I'm
an, I'm an academic and more so than being a sports fan. And I often think even what the,
what the civil rights leaders would
consider of just us comparing that
Tiger Stadium is packed out every time we have a football game. Yet there's so many nonprofits in the
Baton Rouge area that need volunteers. And it, and it just
always boggles my mind. And I want to remain, remain aware
that while teaching and research do play a tremendous role, they
do, we must also carry that role of extension and uplift it just as
much and be active in the community. And being, being active in the
community, I've learned so much about here
and I've become more at
home through serving the community. Well, that's powerful, sir. And many of us who go to Tiger Stadium
now have to rethink, not going, but also sharing our time serving. Yes. That's, that's powerful. Well, you've had a great experience
it sounds like at LSU so far. What advice would you give to
current undergraduate students and to high school students who
might consider coming to campus? Yeah, so my first piece of advice
would be to take advantage of every opportunity th
at you're given to
not only learn, but to just create relationships with other people. Respect your teachers and put, put
true effort into your academics. Um, but also attend office hours and
try to speak with your professors just to figure out who they are as a person. You might be surprised of the wisdom
that they're able to sow into your life. And next, as would not be surprising given
my previous answers, I would encourage all members of LSU community to become
active in volunteering, servic
e learning. You know, we have the
Engaged Citizen program. Reach out and find some way to serve. Martin Luther King said nobody
can, not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great because
greatness is determined by service, and so I encourage all students to
become active in, in service learning. You'll be surprised how well it
benefits the rest of your academics. And lastly, I would simply encourage all
students to, if you have not, truly look up the six principles of nonviolence. They
're very impactful. And there was an article that was
published the year John Lewis passed away. He had written an essay that he wanted
to be published when he passed away, and it's titled "Together, We [You]
Can Redeem the Soul of our Nation." And I would encourage every
member of the LSU community to read that article and take it to
heart and answer the higher call. I believe that each one of us,
every student, every faculty member, every staff member, everyone in
the LSU community is called t
o pursue a specific purpose in life. They play a specific role. It'd be a pity if we got so bogged
down in division between disciplines. That someone felt that they
weren't supported enough to pursue what they were called to do. And so I'd encourage all students
to read that article by John Lewis and to answer that call. And you never know, maybe we can just
go down in history among those who were known as turning their world upside down. Well, Tay, I'm gonna say this. Uh, I've got a chance to t
alk to a lot of
students over the course of my life, but the maturity of your thought and thinking
and actions are extremely impressive. Uh, I appreciate you coming on the podcast
to talk about your life journey and how, um, it relates to others in our community. So thank you and really appreciate
this opportunity and look forward to seeing what unfolds in this thing that
you are creating called your life. Thank you.
Comments
I am one Proud LSU Mom. Keep up there great work Tay. Great men are born and raised in Ringgold.
Great Interview, very proud of you & all you have accomplished Tay, God Bless You!
Proud of you Tay!
Great interview!!! So proud of you, you’re setting a foundation👏👏
Very, transparent, critical & well spoken in conversation, LOVE IT.....
Tay is such an inspiration!! Truly a jewel.
What a fine young man! Good for you, Tay! Thank you for sharing your story. Keep telling it! No better place to create amazing relationships than LSU. Geaux Tigers!
Such an awesome young man!
Wow he is amazing
What a great interview. I am inspired by Tay, not only by what he has overcome but by how he has done it. He is a bright light to everyone around him. He’s always positive, humble and truly cares for people. He’s just as funny and talented as he is smart. I’m very proud of you Tay and I’m honored to know you. Keep working hard and being yourself because you are one of a kind.