Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyson K. Brown
Hi Tyson K., please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
If I had to trace this God-ordained journey back to a pivotal moment in my life, it would likely be my third grade class’ trip to the State House. I still remember standing outside the House of Representatives chamber, looking up at the intricate design of the decorative walls and high ceilings. I remember feeling in complete awe at what the building itself symbolized – freedom not only to dream but to become whatever I dreamed about. From that day forward I found within myself an undying, and God-given sense of duty and obligation not only to my family, but also to the community that was responsible for shaping who I had simply begun to become. This fire for advocacy continued to grow stronger and stronger in my adolescent years, as I continue to receive opportunities to serve as a voice for the voiceless around me.
Years later, I distinctly remember having the opportunity to give the inspirational moment at my school district’s monthly board meeting as a sophomore in high school; and what a pivotal moment that was. Having the opportunity to stand before a group of people who held the responsibility of making difficult decisions that impacted people who look just like me helped me identify exactly what my purpose is in life– and that is to be used by God as a mouthpiece for my generation.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
In my twenty-two years of life, I have found that nothing worth doing will ever come with ease. If I had to detail all of the struggles that God rescued me from or helped me through along the way, this article would be unending. If i’m being completely transparent, I had absolutely no intentions of being where I am today. It is absolutely no secret that I have always had access to opportunities to display my love for people through advocacy – living in a broken world will often afford you that chance. But honestly, in 2020 as a high school senior, I had one objective– and that was to attend and graduate from the college of my dreams in four years, and go on to attend law school immediately afterward. No one could have convinced me five years ago that I would bury two grandparents (who were most vital to my life) within a seven month span. My life was flipped completely upside down. One day I’ll tell the full story as to how my life seemingly unraveled in the months following September of 2020, and as for now only those closest to me understand. But what I will tell you, is that in the midst of losing scholarships, permanently transitioning to completing undergrad online, and going through a grief induced mental breakdown in the middle of a pandemic– starting a nonprofit organization was the absolute last thing on my mind.
But, God held me together. In December of 2021, while I was yet reconciling with what my life had become, the Lord gave me a vision for giving a scholarship at the high school that I had graduated from the year before in the amount of $1,500. Hilariously, I don’t believe that I had any more than $150 in my bank account at the time (times are better now, lol). Somehow, someway, in the middle of one of the most painful moments of my life which led to a part-time college course load for a while– what was intended to be a scholarship transformed into a nonprofit organization.
I am a firm believer that we’ve never been called by God, until we’ve been inconvenienced by God. At the time, I thought to myself, “this can’t be what God wants at a time like this.” However, somewhere along the way I realized that starting the nonprofit was never about me– it was always about being used as a conduit/vessel to bless and strengthen others.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Project OneWay Incorporated/Character Over Calling the Podcast?
I am the Founder, and Executive Director of Project OneWay Incorporated, a nonprofit organization here in the Midlands of South Carolina. Our organization is mission-driven, in that we were founded as a resolution to many of our world’s long-standing societal ills that pose a threat to the well-being of the next generation. We operate through four main programs: Network Building and Navigation, Mentoring, Multi-Area Scholarship Support, and Employment Empowerment, which is our workforce development programming.
Most recently, my nonprofit (and myself) have been most well-known for our programming/consulting surrounding the resolution of generational divides in the workplace and other shared spaces. In 2023, I authored a curriculum detailing consulting methods pertaining to the issue of corporate culture throughout our nation. As a result, our organization has had the opportunity to provide a dynamic workshop series on bridging generational gaps in the workplace for several governmental, and private entities throughout our state. In October of 2023, Ayesha Driggers and the phenomenal team at the City of Columbia’s Office of Business Opportunities gave us the opportunity to begin facilitating the series to the small business community in Columbia. Since then, our organization has been blessed to be brought in by the City’s Human Resources Department, to provide the same type of training to their Leadership Team headed by Ms. Teresa Wilson, City Manager. I am extremely grateful for individuals like her, Ms. Ashley Jenkins, and others at the City who have embraced this curriculum, as they understand that the vitality of municipalities across this state and country depend on it.
What I am perhaps most proud of, is that I didn’t have to compromise my salvation to be where I am today. I am proud of the fact that I have made it to where I am, and have not forgotten the God that brought me here. I am proud of the fact that I have been blessed at 22 years old not only to have a seat at the table for conversations surrounding my generation, but to have a valued voice at that table as well. Everything that I (and my organization) have done from the classroom supplies given away, the scholarships distributed, and the workshops facilitated– has all been through God, and for my generation and those to come.When we were laying the groundwork for the trainings, we realized that we needed to know exactly where Generation Z was, and what they needed– so we started a podcast.
Character Over Calling: The Podcast was created to discuss the idea that many of my generation have always possessed the gifts and calling that get us in the room, but fail to develop the kind of character that reserves our seat at the table. Serving as a source of inspiration and an avenue for communication for all generations, our podcast content has received over a million views since its inception and release on various different platforms. For its success, I honor God first, and thank my brothers Tyler Alexander Shuler (Director) and Joseph Austin B. Scott (Videographer) for making it what it is.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
When I was about 15 or 16 years old, it became clear to me that God was calling me both to, and for something larger than myself– a life of ministry, and in the service of others. Most people who have spent any amount of time with me know that I have a tendency to spend uncanny amounts of time talking to, and pouring into people– even random strangers. If I’m being honest, nothing makes me happier than ministering to others, and showing them the love of Christ through our interaction.
When I was younger, I always prayed for an extraordinary life, full of opportunities to bless others in extraordinary ways. What I did not consider, however, was the idea that I would need to have an extraordinary journey– which would require extraordinary faith. I’ll be honest, my journey has been full of ups and downs– and sometimes it seemed that there was little balance between the time I spent at either extreme of that spectrum. However, I find comfort in the Psalms, my favorite being the 27th division, the 13th and 14th verses, “I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord, in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” It makes me happy to know that even when this journey gets hard, I’m suffering for something bigger than me– and that something is all the people who are coming behind me. So, I’ve decided, I’ll keep going– we’ve got more to do to change lives.
I’d like to briefly thank the people who have seen me in every stage, and loved and supported me anyway: my parents, Dwayne and Fredricka; my brother Myles, who saved my life; my grandparents; extended family; Kaleb, McKenzie, Caylin; CJ Butler, Barry Tolbert, James Bell, Nyriek Joe, Brandon Ross, Aretha Barnes, Shawna Moore; Austin, Tyler, Travis, Nazuri, Sterling, India; Krishna, Ken, and Keishan– thank you for keeping my head on straight; The Shuler’s; Darian and Derrell Richardson.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://projectoneway.info
- Instagram: instagram.com/_tkbrownn/ | instagram.com/projectonewaysc/ | instagram.com/characterovercalling/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tysonkbrown
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CharacterOverCalling
- Other: https://www.wistv.com/video/2024/09/23/soda-city-live-city-columbia-hosting-crossfit-series/
