The sickeningly sweet stench of rotting garbage escaped from the dumpster as a trash bag was thrown inside. Stevenson alumnus Alphonso Mayo, sporting a nametag branded with PMM Companies’ logo, caught a glimpse of the contents of the dumpster, which was filled with unused furniture, television sets and canned goods, thrown out by college students returning home after the semester.

Mayo, who was a full-time student-athlete, also worked part-time with the cleaning company. When taking out the garbage on campus one day, he was struck with an idea.

“I come from poverty, so for me, I was like ‘this is all stuff my family could be using.’ So I drove down to Home Depot, I purchased like 50 boxes and I just set them up in each dorm,” Mayo said. “And every box was filled. And I wound up donating that to a place called Sarah’s Hope.”

At this moment, Mayo’s passion for community service was solidified. 

“That’s something that’s been ingrained in me from the university, and something I do believe in,” Mayo said.

Mayo’s trajectory in life wasn’t always straightforward. After becoming a father at 19 years old, Mayo left North Carolina Central University and didn’t return to school until 2011, when he applied to Stevenson.

“My grandmother, her dying wish was for me to go back to college. I did a lot of pleading my case to get into the college. Initially, I filled out the application on a phone, at the time– a blackberry,” Mayo said. “So here I am, just asking for an opportunity. I just needed to get in and prove my worth, prove that I can add value to the university.”

In 2011, Mayo was accepted to Stevenson University.

Mayo played as a fullback for the football team. As an older member of the team, he considered himself a mentor to many of the players.

“So they always looked at me as the big brother. I was the teammate that was saying “BYOB” bring your own book to the library,” Mayo said.

Reference assistant in the School of Business Library, Amanda Carey noticed Mayo visiting the library often. 

“He was in the library regularly and always so polite and you could tell what a hard worker he was – he was so eager to learn,” Carey said. “He would bring me his papers to proofread, and if he was having a bad day, he knew I was a person he could trust to just listen.”

In his third year, Mayo applied to work in the library. He initially applied for an overnight position.

“I told him I couldn’t offer him an overnight position because I felt that it was adding too much, and he needed time to be a parent too,” Carey said. “But, I talked to him about work study positions, so he was offered a work study job. I think this gave him a balance and realized I cared and offered a solution for him to still work in the library.”

Mayo was also one of the first students to work for PMM Companies. Like Carey, Mayo’s employer, Rick Mason, was also in his corner, supporting him in subtle, but impactful ways.

“The coffee shop needed to be cleaned, but he wouldn’t put me here because I was an athlete, so he would put me in the gym. I cleaned the gym and then I worked out for five hours, so I had no excuse not to be in shape,” Mayo said. “After that, PMM started giving me a scholarship randomly.”

Working for PMM eventually inspired Mayo’s initiative to donate nonperishables and canned goods to Sarah’s Hope Family Shelter in downtown Baltimore.

“I did it for like three years until I didn’t have the capacity, but the university picked up on it, and I think they called it Leave Steve Green. But originally, it was just Mayo putting stuff in boxes,” Mayo said.

In 2014, Mayo fulfilled his grandmother’s wish, graduating from Stevenson University as a first-generation college student. 

“I rarely feel successful because my family circumstances haven’t changed– the family I come from. I think the rewarding part is you set the standard for those who will come behind you like my kids,” Mayo said. 

The community Mayo found at Stevenson inspired him to give back to his own community at home. Now, he is the founder and executive director of Mentoring Mentors, a nonprofit organization that inspires youth in Baltimore.

“He saw the need for mentorship for kids in Baltimore City and he brought it to life. The adversity he has to overcome so many obstacles and just the hand he was dealt from the start. I hope I’m raising my son to be even half of the person Mayo is,” Carey said.

Mentoring Mentors aims to reach youth in Baltimore, developing their academic and leadership skills.

“I try to create a Stevenson-like community with Mentoring Mentors. What we do, we really are growing leaders. I know other organizations that have a mission, but we live our mission through the work of our young people,” Mayo said.

Mayo holds his own children to the same standards set at Mentoring Mentors.

“My kids do community service. Everything that I am, they’re part of it because I want them to see the greater good in doing it. We want our kids to earn it too,” Mayo said. 

In the near future, Mayo hopes to work with even younger children, so he can build relationships early and set a stable foundation.

“That’s my dream, is to open up a daycare center dedicated to my grandparents and work with young people all the way through,” Mayo said.

One child at a time, Mayo leaves a positive impact on the community around him, continuing the work that all started at Stevenson University.

“Here’s how I’m changing the world, and here’s my call to you to do the same thing.”

This story was originally published on Stevenson Villager on November 23, 2024.