JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Superstar Louisiana rapper Torence Hatch, known to millions of fans as “Boosie,” visited Jacksonville students on Wednesday to speak and motivate, sharing his journey and encouraging them to pursue their dreams.
The visit came as Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan officially declared Wednesday, March 5 as “Minds of the Future” Day, honoring the innovative spirit of Minds of the Future Academy.
Established in 2016, this STEM-focused private school in Northeast Florida is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of thinkers and innovators.
In celebration of “Minds of the Future” Day, the academy hosted a vibrant carnival, bringing together students, faculty, and the community for a day of fun and inspiration.
For parents like Torina Brooks, the day is more about giving children the tools they need to succeed. Her son has been going to Minds of the Future Academy since kindergarten and is now in the fourth grade.
“For our children to have the opportunity to learn about science and tech and math, that’s amazing,” Brooks said. “You know that gives them an advantage that normally they wouldn’t have if they were someone else.”
Cynthia Smith is the owner and founder of the academy. She said learning STEM is a good foundation for later in life.
“I would have had a very good understanding at a young age when I graduated, I could have went and been prepared, career readiness, right into the workforce,” Smith said.
She added that it’s astounding for the children to understand STEM at such a young age.
Adding to the excitement, Boosie was in attendance.
“I like when people look at my pain so they can learn from it,” he said. “I like people to look at all the mistakes I made and not make them mistakes.”
Jayden Turner and Aubrey Smith said it was a cool experience to meet Boosie.
“Not a lot of people get to meet celebrities. It’s a first time for everything,” they said.
Boosie said Duval County is very supportive of him and he wants to pay it back.
“I’m just grateful for being a part of Duval,” Boosie said. “I feel like I’ve raised a lot of people in Duval. A lot of people came up in Duval listening to Boosie. Even though I’m not from here, that can’t be denied, Duval is like a second home to me.”
Smith said Boosie’s music speaks to the students' lives because of the struggles that they are living or went through. He’s known for hits like “Wipe Me Down,” “Set It Off,” and “Independent.”
“I’ve had some students that have wanted to drop out. So and then they became minds of the future student, and then learn ‘independence.’ That’s a song then, you know. Now I have all of my students in my senior class that were on the verge of not graduating at the beginning of this year, they’re graduating. So now I think it’s important that the community ‘wipe them down,’” Smith said.