Dexter Davis wants to help lead Sumter to more success through Liberty STEAM

Education paved the way for Dexter Davis to be successful in life after football, and now he is working to affect the next generation locally and statewide in a similar way.

A former Sumter High School standout, Clemson Tiger football great and National Football League player for six years, Davis found himself returning to college in his 30s to finish his undergraduate degree to "reinvent" himself, he said. Through hard work and perseverance, he was able to do so, and he wants others to be able to do the same.

In recent years, Davis has become more active locally through serving on the board of directors for Sumter's first public charter school - Liberty STEAM Charter School - and in January, he was appointed to the South Carolina Public Charter School District Board of Trustees to help carry the vision of Liberty STEAM forward to the state level.

After earning his degree in 2002 at Morgan State University, Davis said doors opened for him to become a business owner, entrepreneur and team chaplain/sports missionary.

"Education has allowed me to be more than just a football player," he said. "I have been able to create these new pathways because I chose to get immersed in different academics. I did not know anything about running a business until I went to an entrepreneurship program, and that was like another certification for me. I had to go learn how to start a company and so forth."

He knows how to be an asset to his community as an entrepreneur because he has done it himself, Davis said.

"You cannot tell me that is not possible because I have done it," he said. "And nothing gives me the platform to do it more than simply I chose to. This is America, and if you choose to apply yourself, then you can create a pathway to be an asset in your community if you want to. It is as simple as that."

Positive influencers in his life also helped him with his tenacity for work in his 30s and when he went back to school. Now, he sees that part can be done at a much earlier age through Liberty STEAM.

Pathways to success do not always involve a traditional four-year degree after high school, though, he said. Alternative pathways through certifications and the military are also available.

"The only time kids are going to know that is if somebody has come out of that and can tell them," Davis said, "and that is my duty to our young people. That is why I am so excited to be a part of education. You can create a pathway through a certification program, leveraging relationships and keeping a good name."

A solid faith in God also helps by putting one's steps in order to achieve more than most people might expect.

Davis, 53, moved back to his hometown of Sumter last year specifically because of Liberty STEAM and the relationship that he formed with its founding chairman, Greg Thompson.

Thompson piqued Davis' interest in the school when it was still in its planning stages. After the school became official and was authorized in 2020, Davis became vice chairman of its board of directors.

"My wife and I were all in with Greg when he started talking about the school," he said. "Then, going to the meetings and so forth, we realized we were going to need to be here. Being on the board and being a part of the community, you have to be intentional about that. I am adamant about having people on the team who are in the community."

Liberty is in its third year as a school with an enrollment of 586 students, and Davis said a "kids first" intentional mindset has been the key agenda item since Day 1.

Preparing them for the future and meeting the changing needs of business, industry and the military are top priorities. School leaders are also committed to an aggressive growth strategy of adding one grade per year.

"We have had tough and heated conversations about that, but it is all about the kids," Davis said. "It is only kids first. It is not about adults and wanting to hear a bunch of stuff about adults. Instead, we want to hear things about young scholars."

A measure of success for Liberty is when a larger percentage of local companies' employees decide to live here in the community because they can send their children to Liberty and receive a great education, he said.

"They can make this their home," Davis said. "Sumter is a beautiful place to live, beautiful place to retire in, and I think Liberty can be part of that solution. Our goal is to have our scholars want to eventually work in our community, want to be their own entrepreneurs, teachers, work at Shaw Air Force Base and become nurses in our hospital here, for example."

'BEING PART OF THE SOLUTION'

Racial issues can divide men and woman when they believe that color is the biggest concern, Davis said. On that front, individuals can be "part of the problem or part of the solution." He said he thinks God was calling him back to Sumter to be "part of the solution."

"Part of the problem is when people think everything is based on race, and they sit on opposing sides," Davis said. "Part of the solution is when white and Black men and women can get together and work through tough stuff," he said. "In this case, it was working in education together. Greg Thompson was the chairman, and I was the vice chairman, and we worked together. Here, we were doing something bigger than ourselves, and you could not say either of us was racist. He actually did not need me, and I did not need him, but nevertheless together we wanted to be intentional about Sumter. This is about Sumter. I am proud to say that I represent Sumter."