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3 Keys for Your Journey
Business and Community Leaders sharing key principles.
3 Keys for Your Journey
The G.U.D. Soil Project: Mentoring High School Students Toward Adulthood
Discovering meaningful ways to support young people during their critical transition to adulthood has never been more important. Shay Omokhomion joins us to reveal how her Good Soil program is transforming the lives of high school juniors and seniors through innovative mental health support and leadership development.
As a licensed LPC and former educator, Shay brings unique insight into what today's students truly need. She shares how her organization, Impact to Imprint, created G.U.D. Soil (standing for Grace, Understanding, and Discipline) specifically to address the gap between classroom education and real-world readiness. Through compelling stories, Shay explains how seemingly simple activities like "lunchtime table talks" provide powerful opportunities for students to build confidence, develop emotional regulation skills, and form trusting relationships with adults who care.
What makes Shay's approach remarkable is her focus on partnership rather than adding burdens to already overwhelmed educators. Having grown up in Oklahoma City and benefiting from community organizations herself, she understands firsthand the transformative power of mentorship and support during adolescence. "We are the seeds, and our children are the fertile soil," she explains, framing her work as both community service and ministry.
The conversation highlights how G.U.D. Soil engages students with relevant, practical skills that transfer from school settings to adulthood, helping them navigate challenges with newfound confidence. For listeners passionate about youth development, education, or mental health, this episode offers inspiring insights and actionable ways to support the next generation. Join the movement by sharing this episode or connecting directly with Shay to volunteer or contribute to this vital community initiative. Contact info: hello@impact2imprint.com Text: 405.697.1155
Thank you for listening! YouTube - @3KeysforYourJourney -Tune in for a new episode every Sunday. Connect with us at www.ocfo.info
Are you ready to unlock your potential? Tune in to Three Keys for your Journey podcast, where business owners share invaluable insights and empowering strategies to guide you towards success. Based in Oklahoma City, our host, greg T Jones, will inspire and motivate you every week. Get ready to join our conversation as we build community together.
Speaker 2:All right, welcome to our special episode of Three Keys for your Journey. I'm your host, greg Jones, and I have sitting in front of me today.
Speaker 3:Shay Omokomi.
Speaker 2:Y'all just don't understand what we got going on today, man. I mean we got a special, special, special guest. I was trying to think Shay kind of getting prepared for the show, like when did we first meet, do you remember?
Speaker 3:We saw. I would say the first time we met is through Restore, because our children were interns at Restore. Ah, that's right, so that's my first memory of meeting you.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic, and so Restore OKC is a local organization that is in the community in which we both live and they do a lot of good work, and that is right, yeah, so both of our kids were interns there when we first met Fantastic Well for our listening audience. I have gotten, over the course of the last number of years, a great opportunity to get to know Shea and what she's doing in the community, and it's fantastic. You know not only a person that kind of does what she says she's going to do, but also lives by faith, and she understands that there are greater purposes in life and so really appreciate that. A lot of folks, though, that this podcast might reach, they don't know who you are, so how would you introduce yourself?
Speaker 3:Well, I would say I'm Shay O'Macomian. My first name is actually Omaniko Shayla O'Macomian, but I'm born and raised here in Oklahoma City. I grew up in a small community, walnut Grove. I also am a product of the Freedom Center, so spent a lot of time in rearing on the on the east side, doing community service, just always giving back and really being able to immerse myself in the importance of community. So that is really what my life is geared around, if you will. So yeah, born and raised, a UCO alumni, also Langston alumni.
Speaker 2:Oh, so like L's in the air.
Speaker 3:L's in the air. Yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2:It's interesting. We were just at a wedding yesterday that was on the backside of Stillwater and we had to go down 33. And boy, my wife also went to Langston. Boy, she went past us. She was like put the.
Speaker 3:L's up. I'm like all right, Gots to Every time Put the L's up.
Speaker 2:All right. So, Shay, you're not only a fantastic individual and person, but you've got a business, an organization. Tell us a little bit about your business.
Speaker 3:Yes, well, first of all, greg, thank you so much for having me on. Thank you for being a great mentor and support throughout this journey and just continually pouring in and developing the relationship Definitely, definitely appreciate that. So I have a mental health wellness private practice named Impact to Imprint and the whole purpose of that is to create a space that reimagines and reintroduces, represent, if you will, mental health in all of the many facets it affects our day to day. We've been so stigmatized by mental health that it sometimes makes us uncomfortable to have those conversations or go into those spaces just because of the stigmas that follow it. So my practice is birthed out of the needs that I see in the community. I have four DBAs under my community. I have four DBAs under my private practice that the first one is parenting while adulting.
Speaker 3:I have a very special place in my heart for parents. I am a parent, single parent, all of those things and really trying to navigate life responsible for other humans and on top of being responsible for yourself, can be daunting and confusing and scary sometimes. So it is creating a space where we can debunk all of the notions that sometimes come with feeling shame or not doing parenting perfectly, all of those things. It's a beautiful space. I love it so much.
Speaker 3:My second one is Good Soil. That's G-U-D, which stands for Grace, understanding and Discipline, and that is geared towards high school students specifically for me, for me, junior and seniors. A lot what I've seen, especially being a former educator, a lot of what I've seen is that we've spent a lot of time focused on the rearing of students, you know, catching them in the early age, which is really, really important. But I saw, as I continue to spend time and work within the education system, those that are now transitioning to adulthood not prepared and they fall into the trappings and the pitfalls. So I really focus on that transitional moment for juniors and seniors as they prep for a new journey in their life. I have impactful impressions. That is my holistic wellness practice. You know, everything starts with a thought, you know, and so, as we think through our as we, impactful impressions is for that is for the individual 101s, the therapy sessions that is needed and that's what that is focused on, and then I do contracting on the side.
Speaker 2:And I'm going to say wow.
Speaker 3:It's a lie, I know Wow.
Speaker 2:I mean that's awesome and all out of a need of what you see that needs to happen within our community. So currently are you serving right here in the Oklahoma City area?
Speaker 3:Yes, this is my primary area. Last year I did a lot of traveling to just different states. That was a contract thing that I did, I really love it. States that was a contract thing that I did, I really love it.
Speaker 2:But the more I travel out, the more I become passionate about creating the space here, so I've made Oklahoma City my primary focus. Well, that's awesome, and I know today our focus is really on one of those entities which is good soil, and you said that's grace understanding and discipline and really focused on juniors and seniors in high school.
Speaker 3:Yes it. It focuses on instilling leadership, development, mentorship and mental health support. I really it this. This initiative is due to me being a product of all of the very things that I want to create. It was community, it was educators, it was elders, it was all these folks that wrapped around me, poured into me, even when I tried to reject it. That actually allows me to sit in this seat and do the work that I do, so understanding the importance of what that is like in retrospect. I didn't always understand it right then in the moment, but now I really understand that, and so, as I'm in these school systems and or the schools that I partner with, I'm able to see that, like the yearn and the hunger that the youth really want for that, but not having the trusting connections to allow themselves to be open to receiving it.
Speaker 2:So let's talk about you. Know strategy wise, you've obviously got your audience juniors and seniors. Tell me how. How do you, once you become partnered with a particular school, you know what's the first day look like when you're spending time with these kids?
Speaker 3:Yes. So it is first and foremost important for me to build trust. So when I first go into these situations, it's just about getting to know the kids, what is relevant to them, because that's another important thing. We can give a lot of great stuff, but if it's not relevant to them, then it just defeats the purpose and the goal of what we want to accomplish. Observe them and get to know their names and what they're interested in, and introduce myself and become someone that they, that they can see, that they can feel comfortable around and really breaking the ice, if you will. And so that happens. You know, I will say, for two or three weeks at least, just going in, nothing else but just rapport building. Rapport building and this is during, like my lunchtime table talks. I and we'll get into that. But, um, when it comes to, in that regard, going in building those relationships and as I get them familiar with me, then it's the implementation of the, the activities and programs that we do.
Speaker 2:Let's talk about some of that. So, once you build a relationship, you've had that time. You know what are some of the next things. Well, let me, let me ask this question Maybe it's a better way, like ultimately, you know, I know it's a resource for the kids, but what is it that you're trying to get accomplished, not just in your business, but for the kids, like for that typical kid or young adult? What is potential outcomes that you'd like to see?
Speaker 3:Yes, and thank you for asking that question. The goal is to to serve just the school community period. Serve just the school community period. Again, as a former educator, I have a love, a deep love, and respect for educators because, especially with the state of education now, teachers and educators are wearing hats that they didn't sign up for. That is beyond their scope and they still have to. It still falls on them and so and they sometimes get a lot of backlash and criticism for it as well education community-oriented folks that just feel overwhelmed and overtaken by just the immense like need of the students.
Speaker 3:So it was saying like, hey, how can I step in the gap for these teachers versus adding more, like how can I meet them in partnership? And so that was the first step Like, what can I do to be an assistant and be a good partner? And my which I did not mention this, I'm a licensed LPC and the majority of my time has been spent with family and youth, especially doing like home-based therapy, again, school-based therapy, all these different things. So I come with a skill set to be able to really know how to build connections and relationships in a very unique way that aren't taught to educators and things like that, because again, it's not their scope. So that was the first part. So that was the first part, and then I would say the other part, repeat the part, the question I didn't get.
Speaker 2:Well, no, it's just what is the end goal?
Speaker 3:for the students, thank you to feel more confident, more prepared and have a network and a community that they can pull from. One of the things is a lot of students would say how alone they feel. They don't. They felt like the adults were hypocrites, and so it was just this isolation and it was making decisions based off of that anger and rejection that they felt, and so it was really to speak to that Like, if we can, if that is how they're feeling, what can be implemented that we can help course correct some of that stuff Especially.
Speaker 3:Also, they understand the routine of going to school, but they don't understand how to navigate adulthood. They don't understand what it looks like for gainful employment and to reach these goals. They just want to make money, but no, it's a vague plan on how to get there, and when you ask them what that looks like, they're like well, I don't know. I'm just going to figure it out. We know that's not how life works and so it's like well, these are things, these, these I can help at least give some knowledge, develop some skill set that, as some of these adversities that just come with life is going to come at them, they will have some knowledge. It won't be a blank slate, and so that is. That is the goal is to help with emotional regulation. It is to help with help regulation. It is to help with creative problem solving. It is to help with confidence and self-worth.
Speaker 2:So, after you get a chance to spend time with this, is it typically that you spend, or ideally, let me say it that way Ideally is it six months. Is it based around the school year, kind of how do you work with these kids? Is it through the summer, fall break, spring break? Tell me, kind of how that works.
Speaker 3:So it's designed to be around the school year and one of the reasons why I specifically and intentionally wanted it to be around the school year is because, again, it's the teaching them these skills in real time. It's one thing to talk about it and intellectually what this looks like and dream about what this looks like, but what are the practical skills that we can actually develop in real time? How can what you're learning here be developed in school that also can be transferable skills when you leave? So executive functioning is a big thing. Leadership development is a big thing. If you can do these things here on the level that you're on now, those things can continue to develop and grow and they will look different, but the framework will still be the same.
Speaker 3:If I could step back and let you know what this actually looks like in the school, so I have lunchtime table talks and this is my chance to engage students during their lunchtime. One thing that I did is I would have like hot meals catered for them and we would be in a designated area and so, as they're eating, we're filling the time with these really high. Well, it's, it's it's popular quick, intense type of thought provoking questions and conversation starters, if you will, questions and conversation starters, if you will. And they love that so much because we all know that it is just something spiritual about breaking bread and having thought-provoking conversations. So that is something that the children really, really loved. When my funds ran out and I wasn't able to do that anymore, they were like Ms Shea, when are you bringing this back? We miss this so much. Like, are you going to do it? Like when, like before I graduate, are you going to do it again? So it's the immediate feedback of a place where they feel safe, they can have their bellies, fed with really good food and then have conversations that they're probably not having outside of that.
Speaker 3:The second part of that is partnering with the Student Leadership Council for the seniors. So that is a closed group and that one is a bit more structured, and so, again, nothing in the world is free. So it is providing like snacks while we are in that time and also to encourage engagement, having like raffles at the end of each class, giving like a $10 gift card to go and purchase something. You know, maybe it's Sonic, maybe it's just a Visa card or something from OnCue, just local places that's within their proximity that they can use that for and they feel motivated to actually participate, to be a part of, and so those things cost money. The second thing would be dedicated volunteers. So right now I do these things on my own and I definitely love to do it, but I would definitely love to have other bring in other folks that is just as passionate about community, passionate about youth, passionate about educators and education in general, just to come in and be a part and add the value that they bring to that space as well.
Speaker 2:I think this is fantastic, so that they bring to that space as well. I think this is fantastic and I know recently you just applied for what they call a non-dilutive grant, and that's a grant that doesn't have to be paid back, because there are different types of grants For those of you that are not aware of that. There are different types of grants. Some are just like technical assistance, where you get someone to come in and kind of assist you with parts of your business. And then there's these non-dilutive grants that actually bring in capital, as Shea was saying, money that you don't have to pay back. And I know recently you had applied for a pretty significant amount of money to get this off the ground and unfortunately, was not able to receive that. But you also have, you know, took the time to put that together. I know I actually looked at that as well. Um and uh, you know I like to let our listening audience know it was about $30,000. Um, and I'm I am encouraging.
Speaker 2:If you're listening to this podcast, you're hearing this um, this is something that we need in our community and I think, um, shay and and this, uh, good Soil, uhil, part of her organization, is a great place to do that. And so you know, I ask you to just kind of think about, you know, reaching into your pocketbooks, whether you got, you know, $10,000, whether you only got $5. I mean, it doesn't matter, but this is something that I think is important to our community and has an opportunity to really make an impact. It's interesting how we think about the name of your, your business, and so I'm excited about the opportunity to be able to do that. And so you know what I like to do, shay, I'm just going to say to our listening audience for every download of this podcast, we're going to donate $50. Thank you.
Speaker 2:So, as a starting point, for everybody that downloads this podcast so that means you can share the podcast with your family, with your friends, with your neighbors we're going to make a donation from Three Keys to your Journey, to what you're doing. Now, shay, somebody's out there like well, I want to give directly. How do they get in touch with you? They want to volunteer, they want to potentially write a check or send you some money. How do they get in contact with you?
Speaker 3:Well, thank you so much. The best way would be to contact me via email, and that is hello at impact2imprintcom. That's hello at impact I-M-P-A-C-T, the number two imprint, i-m-p-r-i-n-t as well, and that number is 405-697-1155.
Speaker 2:Well, shea, thank you for sharing that information again for our listening audience. We'll have all those details, the email address, the phone number. We'll have all those details that we'll put in our notes, in our blog, all that information about what Shay is doing. But I'm excited. I'm excited. This is the time of the year where we have the opportunity to really be a blessing to her, and so if you're out there listening to this, you've got wind of this. Please take some time out to share this podcast with someone else. But also reach into your pocket, get out your phone, send her a text and say how can I help? How can I help? I almost want to hashtag that. How can I help?
Speaker 1:How can I help good soil?
Speaker 2:How can I help with some good soil? I don't know I'm going to come up with something, but I love that. But I love what you're doing, anything else that you want to leave our audience with before we get off?
Speaker 3:Now, I love what you said and, again, this was like you said. This was a faith-centered initiative, because we are the seeds and our children are the fertile soil, and so this is ministry work, and so if you are a person that believe in that, please reach out to me. If you'd like to collaborate or partner in any way, form or fashion, please reach out to me, for that as well. I'm very much open to that. This is just about doing the work and continuing to build a strong legacy that starts with our youth.
Speaker 2:All right, I'm Greg Jones, your host, with Three Keys for your Journey. We look forward to seeing you next time.
Speaker 1:Thanks for joining Three Keys for your Journey. Journey tune in next time for another episode.
