nown for her community activism, support for K the arts, exuberant personality - and her bountiful hair - Sherricka Day has bold things to say about the
Advocating For
importance of listening. “Everybody is relevant,” she says. “Sometimes
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Sherricka With Mayor Skip Henderson
we downplay the importance of other people’s stories. Everyone has something to contribute to the community.”
Growing Up
Though a transplant, she says “I’ve been in Columbus long enough to call Columbus home.” Born on the Landstuhl military base in Germany, Sherricka was the child of two high school sweethearts from Mississippi. She spent her early years at Fort Knox in Kentucky, then a base in Korea, before her family’s orders ultimately had them bound for Fort Benning, where she was finally able to put down roots. A Hardaway High graduate, she worked part time jobs while studying at Columbus State, ultimately joining the insurance company Aflac full-time midway through
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her degree. Now an Aflac employee of 24 years, she was named the company’s “Corporate Social Responsibility Hero” in 2018. A passionate volunteer, she has been recognized by many local and regional organizations and was recently asked to join the board of Visit Columbus to help promote the city. Her non-profit, Minor in Business, Inc., promotes entrepreneurial skills by providing mentorship and support to youth participants, who range from 7-year-olds to high school seniors. Her earliest mentees are now in college. Young participants learn practical skills and gain realworld confidence, as well as a warm and open ear. “We feel like we have to come with all this book knowledge,” she says, but often all children really need 6
“is someone to talk to.” Sherricka knows how important it is for a child to be heard. “It was devastating for me,” she remembers hearing her parents announce their divorce. The two dramatic life changes – coming to Columbus and her parent’s separation - created a formative experience. Often, she says, children facing divorce are left to wonder questions like “Could I have been a better child?” Amid the tumult of the divorce, her parents gave her a gift she still cherishes to this day: “I had conversations with my parents, a few times.” They listened to her, carefully talking through her assumptions and fears, and, perhaps most importantly for Sherricka, providing validation for her experience. “It was reassuring to know that I could have that conversation.” Throughout that experience, they modeled for her how to communicate effectively, she says, even when it was most difficult. “It was helpful in making me who I am today,” she says, “knowing that I was able to express myself.” Her father treated her – as she recalls he did all children – as a small human being, telling her “you’re a person and deserve the same respect as an adult. Your feelings, thoughts and actions matter.” Her mother, in contrast, “just cuts to the chase. She’s good about ‘don’t get sucked into what this person is saying or how they make you feel.’” “Those two personalities,” she says, “I have a bit of both.” Her parents continue modeling mutual respect today, as “co-parents,” she says with a laugh, “even though they’re done parenting.” “I’m grateful for that balance, even though it was shaken up. I know that sometimes, that picture that you might have painted of what you feel like life should be, you might have to start on a fresh new canvas.”
Minor in Business, Inc.
Today she shares that same gift of respect and validation with the young people that join Minor in Business, Inc. When she works with them, she makes sure to tell them, “You have my attention for this moment,” so they know they can safely express themselves. In addition to holding a variety of events annually, Sherricka and her mentees jointly identify a need in the community. Last year, they worked to collect and donate
Sherricka & Minor in Business, Inc. Kids
supplies to the Muscogee County School District’s Hygiene Pantry. This year, they have navigated the pandemic together through virtual meetings. Among the works of distance volunteering, two mentees sewed and donated 500 face masks to the community. True to her commitment to listening, she plans to lead a conversation about the 2021 plans for the program with the mentees next month. “I do my best to let them mold what our future is.”
Making Difficult Conversations
Having difficult conversations is clearly important to her. That starts with listening, she says. “It can be hard to trust others. It takes effort.” F EBR UAR Y-MAR CH 2021
