Kewanta Brooks: “The journey is a long, winding road and never a straight path”

Kewanta Brooks, CEO and founder of EliteKids TV, is the epitome of someone who continues to make a change in societal norms by leading a life filled with purpose and meaning. Growing up, the typical stressed life path was always having good school grades, getting a job, earning money, and in the end, retiring. When she did well in school, went to college, got a degree, and got a job, she realized that something was wrong in this system and she was really not experiencing that satisfaction that she thought she would achieve so she decided to break this cycle and societal standard.

Before starting EliteKids, Kewanta was a teacher. As she continued to navigate this profession, she noticed everyday that the resources for children’s education were neither engaging nor relevant. They did not fit the kid’s needs and they definitely were not able to help those who needed extra attention in the classroom. Once she became a parent, this idea continued to show up and she never once came across the right educational tools for her students and kids. After being a teacher for a couple of years, she became a teacher trainer, helping train teachers all over the nation, and she was once again met with the same idea: that no resource properly met the needs of all students. Once the pandemic hit and classes went virtual, she knew she had to do something about this which led her to the birth of EliteKids TV! EliteKids TV makes sure that proper resources reach every student to enhance their learning in a fun and interactive manner. 

Growing up, Kewanta has always been very organized. She always wrote to-do lists for everything that she did and she feels that this still carries to her today. She continues to write her goals down, her vision and has all her plans and thoughts organized. She feels that this allows her to get her thoughts straight and gives her a plan. Additionally, growing up she was into theater and was a part of many plays. She believes that this really helped her as a teacher later in her life because she was “performing” to be the best teacher she could be. 

All throughout high school and college, Kewanta never believed that she would become an entrepreneur. In fact, the thought never really crossed her mind. However, she feels that all of her life decisions and opportunities led her to this career and this mission to help out the education industry by being an entrepreneur. Kewanta says “I don’t know if this was the path I was meant to take, but it was the path I walked on”. She feels that each of her decisions, all of her life moments, and each opportunity that she took led her to this moment and the current career path that she is on.

Every journey comes with a fear factor/doubt factor. Many people as they walk their path to accomplish their dreams come across many fears and doubts that hinder them from continuing. Ever since Kewanta started her journey she has been faced with the fear that she might not be the right person for this and she would always doubt herself about that. She never knew if she was the right person to be doing this in terms of her credibility and her experience. She always had and still has this inner voice that continues to ask her if she is really the right person to be walking the path she is. She always had to and continues to tell herself and her inner voice to just keep going and that she will know sooner or later that she is the right person for this. In fact, one day she came across the application for the Forbes Next 1000 list and found that they were looking for entrepreneurs for that list. She went ahead and applied and it just so happened that she was, selected for it. She said that this moment was more of an assurance to her than anything else that she is on the right path and that she is the right person to be walking this path. She said “it just felt like a validation” to her fears and doubts. 

As Kewanta continues to make a difference in the education industry, she hopes to leave a legacy of passion and leave behind the idea of chasing money. More importantly, she wants her children to know that they will never need to chase behind money as long as they follow their passion and they can lead a life of purpose instead. She is living this legacy by making sure and asking herself after each decision that she makes whether or not it serves her children and other children. She wants children and the next generation to know that they do not need to and should not chase money for what it is rather to just lead a life doing something that they love with a passion and purpose. 

Kewanata’s journey has shown me that life does not always work the way you imagine. Although you may have goals and a vision for the future, it may not always work out that way and that’s totally okay! She never planned to be an entrepreneur but all of her life decisions and opportunities led her to that and she didn’t hide from it because it wasn’t her plan. She took the opportunity and is now on the Forbes Next 1000 list for Entrepreneurs! Kewanta’s journey has also shown me that you can have fears and you can have doubts about your journey and that doesn’t mean you will fail or you are not ready, it just means to push yourself past your doubts and fears and conquer your dreams!

Live a life filled with passion, purpose, and meaning