To Serge, courageous means “someone who opens up to people, hears what people have to say.” Serge admits that he didn’t always abide by that definition. “I didn’t used to listen to other people’s opinions,” he says. “I used to say I was right all the time.”
That is the old Serge, according to Monica Lucey, principal of Lawrence Catholic Academy (LCA), where Serge recently finished eighth grade. Lucey remembers when Serge the 6th grader “would turn his desk around and put it in the corner and give you the back of his head” if he heard something he didn’t like. “He would get really mad when you asked him to do anything,” she says.
But something changed. By the time he was graduating from middle school, Serge had become a person “devoted to bettering himself every day,” Lucey says. “He’s like the mayor at LCA—everyone knows him and has something nice to say about him. He is a model for our kids.” Serge is now a 9th grader at Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, supported by the Corey’s Scholar Program.
“He’s like the mayor at LCA—everyone knows him and has something nice to say about him. He is a model for our kids.”
Monica Lucey,
Principal, Lawrence Catholic Academy (LCA)
He arrived from Cameroon with his parents at the age of 2. His daycare teachers in Lynn, Massachusetts, called his mom at work almost daily, demanding that she come pick up her son. “They said I wasn’t behaving, that I needed help, that I should go to a psychiatrist,” Serge says. “My parents kept saying that nothing was wrong with me.
Still, with Serge’s mom on the verge of losing her job because she kept having to leave work to pick up her son, it was decided that Serge would return to Cameroon to live with an uncle and aunt. That lasted about four years, until civil and political unrest escalated throughout the country.
Serge came back to live with his parents on the North Shore, and started first grade at LCA. He was 6, and he’d already crossed the Atlantic three times.
By fourth grade, Serge started noticing that “some people were discouraging me, talking about my skin color, making crazy jokes,” he says. In an essay he submitted to the Corey C. Griffin Foundation, he described encountering people who didn’t like him because he was Black.
“I live in a Hispanic city, and people don’t always understand that my struggle is the same as theirs,” he wrote. He felt angry, and he pushed people away. “I thought no one would understand,” he says.
years old
Trans-Atlantic Trips
“I live in a Hispanic city, and people don’t always understand that my struggle is the same as theirs … I thought no one would understand”
Finding solace & self
Serge found solace in basketball and soccer, spending time outside, drawing—activities that took his mind off the stressful parts of his life. “With drawing, it’s just me and the paper,” he explains.
“You can think about anything. You’re using your imagination the whole time.”
“Here’s a funny story,” he explains. “My cousins came to visit last summer from Maryland, an older brother and a little brother. My older cousin would wake up around 1 in the afternoon, and my mom was like, ‘Why is this boy still sleeping?’ I wake up early, and my little cousin woke up early, too, so I would make him breakfast. My mom told me that I was being the responsible one, that I was being someone that my little cousin could look up to. That’s one of the things that changed my mindset, knowing that some people are going to look up to me.”
Serge’s parents also advised their son—”throughout my whole life,” Serge notes—to be kind and to not look down on people. “My parents always tell me that helping someone out goes a long way,” he says. “Even if it’s someone I don’t like or someone who was mean to me—I should still not show hatred to that person.”
“That’s one of the things that changed my mindset, knowing that some people are going to look up to me”
Family Values
Be kind
Be helpful
Don’t look down on others
His faith formation classes with Father Paul O’Brien motivated him “to do better out in the world,” he says. Throughout eighth grade, he tried to focus on finishing strong. He didn’t think much about fifth and sixth grade, when he was angry and struggling to find a sense of belonging. Having traveled back to Cameroon several times to visit relatives, he says, “I know where I come from and I’m very proud of that.”
Father Paul O’Brien
When Serge got called to the principal’s office last spring, he wasn’t worried, just puzzled—especially when he saw his mom sitting with the school administrators who had secretly nominated him for the Corey’s Scholars Program.
“They said they had three surprises,” he remembers, grinning. “They told me I got nominated. They told us the amount—$10,000 a year. And they told us that it’s for high school and college. My mom burst out in tears.”
"The implications of being a Corey’s Scholar will be life-changing for Serge. He’s going to be the first one from his family to go through elementary school, middle school, and high school in Catholic schools in the United States, and he’s going to get what he needs, academically. But it’s not just life-changing for him—it is for his family, too, and for the people around him."
“I’m going to try taking things slow,” he says of high school. He’s hoping to play soccer and basketball and maybe try track or cross country.
Serge also received other financial awards for high school: two from Central Catholic and one from the Catholic Schools Foundation.
In five years, he sees himself in college—Syracuse, or Harvard “if I can make that possible,” he says.
He attributes his successes to his curiosity, creativity, determination, and a heightened sense of awareness.
“If people say something and don’t think I’m listening, I’m probably listening, like, 99 percent of the time.”
— Serge Kemembin
students receive tuition
assistance annually. Now, Corey’s Scholars will deepen our support.
Corey’s Scholars takes a holistic approach. We don’t just help students get into school. We help them succeed in school, graduate, and transition into meaningful careers. By offering students a network of support and resources, Corey’s Scholars empowers them to overcome barriers, stay focused, and achieve their educational and career goals.
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Boston’s Biggest Night Out brings glamour, purpose, and generosity together—raising millions to support Corey’s Kids each year.
We believe every child deserves a chance to thrive. The Corey C. Griffin Foundation supports high-impact educational and healthcare programs for youth from under-resourced communities in Greater Boston, serving over 10,000 kids annually.