Penn State College of Communications comMedia

His life, however, is far from the typical product-of-his-environment tale. With a Bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland and a Master's degree from Penn State University, Keith ignored the statistics suggesting he would fail and has become one of the most influential cultural educators at Penn State.

Keith, better known as Tony to students at Penn State, is the Assistant Director of the Paul Robeson Cultural Center on campus. The center strives to keep diverse students educated on social issues and provide them with a comfortable environment.

As the Assistant Director, Keith works with the Cultural Center to coordinate educational programs and works daily with students, and has become somewhat of a pop icon on campus.

"I've sort of developed a philosophy of life. I always tell people there are three things that I need in my life; one is working with youth," Keith said. "Though I'm very young myself, there is something I find beautiful in the minds of young people."

Keith believes there is a real need for a cultural center at a school like Penn State that has a smaller minority population compared to the areas where many of the diverse students at Penn State come from. Keith's office in the Cultural Center is usually filled with students who come to have conversation about everything from classes to life with him. He loves to hear what students have to say and then formulates ideas.

"I've always been a critical thinker," he said. "I've always been the one to ask why and how things happen."

Keith's critically thinking mind may be what drives the other important aspect of his life: poetry. He considers poetry a large part of his life, and has performed spoken word pieces at events all over the country. His love for poetry has also spilled over into his job: some of the cultural events he has helped put on as a director at the Cultural Center have been open mic poetry sessions such as "The Stoop," which aimed to create an urban atmosphere where students could express themselves through poetry and spoken word.

Keith said his love for poetry began in the third grade when he won a medal for a poem he wrote about the season of fall.

"I don't know where it came from...but I have always loved the art of putting words together," he said. "I remember in AP English in high school I had a teacher who would give me a new word of the day each day and I loved it."

Keith loves that his job allows him to connect poetry and his personality with the first thing he needs to be happy in life, working with youth. Second, Keith needs to be involved in the cycle of teaching and learning. He is passionate about educating others and his goal is to not only help those who may have faced similar challenges he did growing up, but also to educate them.

In addition to "The Stoop," other cultural programs Keith has contributed to include "The Social Justice Symposium," which will take place at the end of April and is a one day conference featuring speakers, workshops and presentations about issues of identity and oppression, as well as an initiative to encourage students to have better study habits called "Embrace the N.E.R.D." He has also worked on the "Tunnel of Oppression," a simulated tunnel that students can walk through to see how different groups have been demoralized over the years.

The final thing Keith needs to feel whole is to be involved in social change. While he admires the work of various social leaders, Keith said the two people admires the most for their work towards change are his mother and his best friend.

"My mother created change by raising my sister and I as a single parent," Keith said. "And my best friend Jason Reynolds is a phenomenal poet who explores social issues and creates change through his listeners and readers."

Keith plans to stay at the Cultural Center for a long time, and hopes that no matter what his occupation or responsibilities are in the future, he can make an impact.

"Whether it's gender, society or racial issues, I need to work with social change," he said. "I know that no matter what my job is or what I do, I want to be able to affect change."

Tony the Professional Meets Tony the Poet

While Tony Keith's work with youth at the Paul Robeson Cultural Center at Penn State is a large part of his life, he is passionate about the art of poetry and spoken word. Since the age of 3, Keith has performed and has taken his poetry everywhere from D.C. to Los Angeles.

View Arianna Davis's Portfolio

View more journalism work completed by Arianna as a print journalism major in the College of Communications

• Arianna Davis
  

• Audio slideshows
• Video projects
• Multimedia projects
• Student portfolios

Website designed and developed by Blue Banana Designs