Pulse of Perseverance: A story of overcoming obstacles on a journey toward success

Dr. Joseph Semien, of Lake Charles Memorial Hospital for Women, is visiting schools across the country to promote “Pulse of Perseverance,” a movement and non-profit organization aimed at redefining negative stereotypes of young African Americans.

The movement is also the title of his new book, co-authored by Drs. Pierre Johnson and Maxime Madhere, both African Americans. The authors have met with students in New Orleans, Chicago and Atlanta and have discussed their personal journeys in overcoming obstacles, pursuing progress in the face of failure and proving statistics and cultural assumptions wrong.

Semien said the mainstream media frequently portrays African-American males in a negative light or only shows them being successful in entertainment or sports. He said students who share those “limited” career aspirations are really saying, “I want to be successful.”

But they have blinders, it’s all they see,” Semien said. “So, Pulse of Perseverance is about exposing these kids to other professions to let them know (that) I came from the same challenges but I made a change and so can you.”

Semien said he was “a good student,” but he was “living a double life … the street life.” However, he said tragedy “brought this lifestyle that I was living to a reality.”

“The truth is, what no one talks about is that it brings on a depression which spirals on to anger,” Semien said. “Those are vital moments that you have to make some decisions. You have to have people around you who can actually tether you to make the right decisions.”

Semien said his classmates, Johnson and Madhere, pushed him to be successful in the medical field.

“No matter where you come from, no matter what obstacles you go through, you can still overcome them,” he said. “You still have time. You can still achieve these goals.”

Another mission of the movement is to help young people reach their goals, Semien said.

“That curse that’s been going on in the black community can be broken,” he said. “It can be shattered when people will realize that they can truly accomplish anything they desire and it doesn’t necessarily mean they have to change who they are.”

Semien said all cultures should try to understand each other more and stop “locking certain people in a box.”

“I have tattoos; I wear earrings,” he said. “I wear jeans and a T-shirt when I’m not at work. We need to understand people as a whole. We need to understand culture.”

For more information on Pulse of Perseverance, visit www.thepulseofp3.com.

‘No matter where you come from, no matter what obstacles you go through, you can still overcome them.’

Dr. Joseph Semien

Author

””

Drs. Pierre Johnson III, Joseph Semien and Maxime Madhere, authors of the book, “Pulse of Perseverance,” have met with students and discussed with them pursuing progress in the face of failure and proving statistics and cultural assumptions wrong.

Special to the American Press

SportsPlus

McNeese Sports

Cowgirls look for four-peat

Local News

UPDATE: Drug charges against veterinarian cleared of rape dropped

Local News

Cassidy, Senate committee advances Robert F. Kennedy Jr. nomination to be health secretary

Business

Waffle House adds surcharge to eggs as massive bird flu outbreak leads to soaring prices

Local News

Federal judge blocks enforcement of La. police ‘buffer-zone’ law

Local News

Louisiana Armed Forces Alliance opens new offices

Local News

NY shields abortion pill prescribers after doctor indicted in La.

McNeese Sports

Cowboys win by a tick

Business

Wall Street swerves lower after Trump announces tariffs and then puts some on hold

Local News

A heart for kids: New Big Brothers Big Sisters CEO driven to help others

McNeese Sports

Hot-shooting Nicholls guns down Pokes

McNeese Sports

Cowgirls struggle early, fall to Nicholls

Informer

The Informer: Floods followed in wake of 1940 Gulf Coast storm

Business

Economic advisor: Collaboration, focus on workforce development key

Jim Beam

Jim Beam column:Professor back in classroom

life

String theory: Thompson rediscovers her art voice in fabrics

Local News

Qualifying ends, ballots set for March election

Crime

1/31: Calcasieu Parish Sheriff announces arrest list

life

Southwest District Livestock Show: Time again to hit the dirt

Crime

Former veterinarian found not guilty in rape of young girls at Kinder casino

McNeese Sports

Cowboys end road trip at Nicholls

Local News

UPDATE: La. fourth-graders in the top five in nation for math growth

Local News

Mercedes Lartigue-Sinegal: ‘I find fulfillment in helping students develop their knowledge and skills’

McNeese Sports

Fourth quarter does in Cowgirls