Students preparing for the future at annual Village Symposium

MOSS POINT, Miss. (WLOX) - Dozens of students Saturday morning got a glimpse into their future. The annual Village Symposium was held at Moss Point High School. It’s the kick off to a weekend-long Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. event.

“We come here every year and we come for group activities, meet new people and learn about about MLK and history," said Madison Barkley, 10th grader and member of the Pink Lotus Youth Leadership Group.

Students got the chance to chat with area organizations and businesses.

“We kicked off this morning with a health fair and right now we have a youth summit going on," said Jakavious Pickett, Lead Pastor at Praise Temple of Biloxi. “You know the old saying it takes a village to raise a child, so we wanted to bring everybody together. We wanted to create that community, that village atmosphere to where everyone is a part, everyone can come in and take some things back home.”

This year’s theme is “see the dream then be the dream,” and it’s all about empowerment.

“We want to empower people so they can take the dream of not only Dr. Martin Luther King but also their own personal dreams, and empower themselves to make a change in the world that we’re in today," added Pastor Pickett.

From health to banking and finance, even sororities are on deck. It’s a chance for students to ask one-on-one questions.

For members of the Pink Lotus Youth Leadership Group, the Village Symposium is another step in preparing for the future.

“We do a lot of volunteering in the community. We talk about things to help educate the girls in lie as far as careers, focusing on their ACT scores, helping them get a scholarship into college, learning the process of what it takes to get into college," said Natasha Barkley, President of Pink Lotus.

Organizations each year see a lot of familiar faces and hope their messages make an impact.

There are several events this weekend and into the beginning of next week to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Click here to read more.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is January 20, 2020.

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