Soul Not for Sale

Ja’Rory Purnell, class of 2023, has been all gas and no brakes since graduating high school. Now a sophomore at Morehouse College, Atlanta, Georgia, Ja’Rory has been diving head-first into his school’s culture, programming, and activities. “I am putting my all into it—I want to reach my full potential.” 
Ja’Rory is a crucial part of an on-campus group at Morehouse called CASA (Campus Alliance for Student Activities), where he helps host significant, school-wide events that promote community and culture. Big-name artists are brought in, Homecoming is run through CASA, and most prominent events go through the group. Being only a sophomore and having taken on such a strong leadership role within CASA has been a big deal, and Ja’Rory does not take it for granted as he makes a lasting impact on his campus every day. 
Ja’Rory is an Oprah Winfrey Scholar; therefore, his tuition at Morehouse has been completely paid for. Ja’Rory feels extremely blessed to be a part of the program and loves all the opportunities it has given him. “Through that program, I do a lot of community service hours. [...] I also mentor at a middle school [...] every Tuesday and Thursday to help middle schoolers in Atlanta who really need the mentorship and look up to guys like myself.” 
Ja’Rory has always had a knack for leadership and being an integral part of his community. Reflecting back on his time at Maranatha, Ja’Rory thinks fondly of having been a part of the varsity basketball and football co-op with Providence, as well as class president. One thing that really impacted him during his time at Maranatha came through his involvement in Daily Bread (a during-lunch group where students spend deliberate time with God). “[...] you literally just had time to yourself to talk to God about anything you wanted, anything going on. Sometimes, I would just lie there throughout the entire lunch because I felt the Holy Spirit so much. So, I brought that to my life —like on Sundays, a lot of times I would just be in my own room, play a gospel song, and just really use that to push me through the week.” 
When asked about Maranatha’s greatest strengths, Ja’Rory said, “What I really like about Maranatha is they highlighted the diversity. Say, for instance, I’m going to lunch. I was able to sit at any table in the lunchroom. [...] I was able to be in different groups of people, which was really beneficial because, in the real world, you’re gonna be in rooms where the person next to you isn’t gonna look like you, and you still need to be able to be yourself and confident within yourself. [...] I would also say I appreciated the size of the classrooms because you have a greater connection with the teacher, which really helped me boost my confidence and made me the person I am today.” 
Holding strong to that confidence and leadership built upon at Maranatha, Ja’Rory has continued to run full speed towards his dreams and passions. He continues to run his own successful clothing line, Soul Not for Sale (website: sn4s.shop), and aims to be a major player in the high fashion industry. “My major is business marketing. I want to get a marketing job in high fashion, so big name brands like Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton, I want to be able to market for them. I want to learn the marketing schemes they use and incorporate them into my own brand. With Soul Not for Sale, I also want to make it a label where you can do community service and mentorship, so it is not just a brand—it is more of a name.” 
Everything that Ja’Rory does, he does with passion and purpose. Never settling for “good enough,” Ja’Rory honors those who helped get him to where he is now by continuing that legacy of reaching out to those around him with leadership and love. Whether being a mentor to classmates on campus at Morehouse or his community service work done through the Oprah Winfrey Scholarship program, Ja’Rory puts others first as he leads by example and gives all glory to God.