Achievement never sleeps.
That’s the motto Darius Humphries lives out in his daily life.
“Life is about others,” he says, “because at this point … it’s not about me.”
Some people are born to serve, and Darius is one such person. A lifetime of involvement with members of at-risk communities, and being in that position himself, primed him for a career dedicated to others. He declares to be on his path through the lens of education.
“Being able to grow in faith and in practice and career-wise, making a living out of it … I won’t lie, it’s been a journey,” he says, “but it’s been fulfilling as well. I want to do something on a larger scale before my time is done. I want a legacy to leave behind. I want to help people to a bigger magnitude. Being able to put myself in the position using my degree. I’ll be able to use my degree to do some amazing things.”
Commitment Day and Night
Darius’s schedule is packed with responsibilities.
During the day, he works as Chief Operations Officer (COO) of a small agency that handles individuals with developmental disabilities, often those that are about to become institutionalized. Through this field, Darius runs a workforce that empowers patients to advocate for themselves, increase their self-respect, and take action in their own lives.
This dedicated and passionate staff — who Darius claims sees their clients more often than their own families — is his main priority.
“My job is to help make their lives better, and make our individual lives greater,” he says. “This agency really gravitated to me because it was a place where I could be useful.”
By night, he works as an admissions specialist at Meadowwood Behavioral Health Hospital in New Castle, Delaware. Due to the nature of this position, Darius explains that there are a lot of dangers involved.
“It’s a tough job,” he acknowledges. “We’re dealing with crisis calls, we’re dealing with psychotic patients both voluntary and involuntary, we’re dealing with families who are struggling with their children. My job is being one of the front persons, the point of contact.”
He also does clinicals at the hospital to understand how the facility can place those patients to maximize their care.
If you’re behind the curve in a race, there’s no time for sleep or rest. There’s no time for play. I have to strive for achievement. It’s life or death. Achievement never sleeps, and I literally stand on it.
Being on the front lines of the agency and health facility means that he sees violent transgressions on a regular basis, but he’s not done when he’s off the clock. Darius finds solace through Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. where he reaches out to at-risk youth to motivate their journeys through his examples and testimonies.
“I’m trying to hone in and give back,” he says.
Between his many commitments, Darius leans on his studies for mental clarity and personal advancement.
“There’s a lot of crime, there’s a lot of negative stuff,” he says. “Being mentally strong, spiritually strong, supporting my family, and now being able to focus on other endeavors like my school has been a positive outlet, but also revealing for other things to come. I can see my purpose now.”
The Evoking Beginning
Unlike other children that dreamed of excelling in sports or other fields, Darius had different dreams in mind.
“I’d never really thought about that, other than that I just like helping people,” he says. “I was an odd kid, or a ‘weird kid,’ and I always had a passion for just helping people. Along the way, you get help, and you learn how to help people from being helped.”
Growing up, Darius moved around frequently with his mother between Nashville and Philadelphia. He spent time in homeless shelters and low-income housing for large parts of his childhood, living with his siblings while his mother did what she could to provide for them.
“My mom lived a very rough life,” he recalls.
At the age of 12, he found out that his mother was tragically killed, leaving him and his siblings with their stepfather. Not too long after, Darius and his younger siblings were taken into custody to a juvenile youth facility, where he was then separated from his brothers and sisters, who went into different foster homes.
Going into high school, Darius attended “the worst high school in America” according to Diane Sawyer: Strawberry Mansion High School. At that point, his aspirations were to get to the next step in his academic career.
‘At that time, life was so rough that my long-term goal was just to get to college,” he says.
Going to college afforded Darius opportunities he never previously had, he claims. With his newly expanded options, courtesy of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, he was able to pursue his ultimate goal of helping others.
Solace Through Education
Eventually, Darius received his master’s degree and turned his attention to his next goal: a doctorate.
“I was seeking to grow, and to add some prestige to my name with some dreams and aspirations,” he says. “I went for what I knew,” he says. “The recruiting process, the onboarding, going through the rigorous challenge of financial aid, the logistical stuff. They made that process easy.”
It was the healthy challenge he needed at that time in his life.
“I’ve had to learn a different way and still strive academically,” he says. “To get to this point, UAGC and the professors are life changing. The academic side of it is extremely challenging, but it’s been wonderful.”
Cementing A Meaningful Future
Always looking to make an impact, Darius continues to give “real life talk” as he calls it. He regularly speaks at different programs through Kutztown, and will speak at an upcoming symposium to discuss entering the healthcare field with those holding criminal backgrounds.
He instills his ideas of future-forward thinking into his three teenage children.
“I’m always trying to get them to think about their future,” he says, “I want them to enjoy what I didn’t have. I explain to them that the life they have now, I want them to have it, but I also want them to understand the opportunities that I did not take advantage of or teach them foresight and conceptual skills so they can see beyond things.”
As for his degree, he plans to push on with his academic career and use the experience and knowledge he’s pursuing to continue his mission to help people.
“Tomorrow’s never promised, and every day I try to do my best,” he says. “The one thing I’ve learned is that if you’re behind the curve in a race, there’s no time for sleep or rest. There’s no time for play. I have to strive for achievement. It’s life or death. Achievement never sleeps, and I literally stand on it.”
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Successful completion of a degree program at the University of Arizona Global Campus by itself does not lead to licensure or certification in any state, regardless of concentration or specialization. Certain degree programs may not be available in all states.
Student success stories should not be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of career advancement or future earnings. The stories shared here represent the outcomes of individual students for illustrative purposes only.