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Cornell Drummond might be only 26 years old. But his life experiences are helping others. That didn’t happen, though, until he learned from those occasions.
By the time Drummond was 17, he was a drug dealer, selling cocaine and marijuana in West Philly.
“We was going to war out there with each other,” Drummond said.
Turf wars resulted in his being shot once in the stomach seven years ago. That shot paralyzed him from the waist down, but didn’t stop him from dealing. Shortly after the shooting, he was indicted for dealing in a school zone and subsequently sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a federal prison in Ayers, Mass. The hardest part: being away from his family.
“I had to change and also had to help others change,” Drummond said.
However, upon his 2009 release, he returned to his old ways. Even though he craved change, it was hard to secure. A probation violation sent him back to prison in mid-’10 for 16 months.
Leaving his past behind, he has started his new life with his wife and two daughters and works as an IT specialist for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. He’s also telling his story to prevent children from taking the wrong path and to help ex-offenders find their way in through his organization Boys Mentoring for Positive Youth Development and to “Stop the Violence.” Since he has beaten all odds, he hopes to help others accomplish the same feat.
“If somebody is going to take your future like that by a bad decision, you’ve got to make a better decision,” he said.
He also enacts change by participating in the Supervision to Aid Re-Entry (STAR) program, a Philadelphia federal court district initiative aiming to reintegrate ex-offenders.
“If it wasn’t for the STAR program, I wouldn’t have changed,” he said.
Drummond, who will enroll at Community College of Philadelphia in January for radio communications, keeps it real for his mentees.
“I give them all the bumps I had, all the mountains I had to climb,” he said.
He also discourages children from being violent and teaches them how to think before they act.
“I come in there [and say,] ‘Look, I’m in a wheelchair. I can never walk again. This is not what you want.’ … It’s not the most polished,” he said of his speeches, “but you can tell it’s real.”
As for his Difference Maker honor, he feels there is still much work to be done.
“I really don’t think I’ve made a difference until these shootings stop, and the city becomes a safer place for my daughters to play,” he said.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
2014 Difference Makers
/ L. Jay Agnes / Christine M. Beady / Jessica Calter / Mikki Capo /
/ Barbara Capozzi / Giovanna Cavaliere /
/ Christopher DiCapua / Marlo and Jason Dilks / Marie DiStefano / Beth Dougherty /
/ Cornell Drummond / Maureen Fratantoni / Etrulia (Trudy) Gay / Jess Gould /
/ David and Lisa Grainge / Richie Lazer / Tim Lidiak /
/ Shane Martin / Laura McColgan / Akhenaton Mikell / Russell Shoemaker / Lionel Simmons / Tom Wyatt/
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