When I think about the experiences that shaped the man I am today, I often come back to three things: education, achievement, and responsibility.
My journey took root at Elizabeth City State University, where I enrolled in 1987 and graduated in the spring of 1992. What I experienced at ECSU during those years helped establish the foundation for the person I would become — not simply professionally, but personally.
Elizabeth City State University was different then. It was smaller, humbler, and simpler than many of the larger universities surrounding it. But what we may not have had in resources, we made up for with ambition, determination, and pride.
I met students from different parts of the country who had come to Elizabeth City with a common objective: to accomplish something special and represent their families well. For many of us, we were the first in our families to graduate from a four-year university.
When you are the first person in your family to accomplish something, you don’t always realize the amount of pressure you place on yourself until you’re in the middle of it. There is an unspoken responsibility to succeed. You don’t want to be the person who failed. You don’t want to disappoint your parents, grandparents, siblings, or the people who sacrificed to help you get there.
I felt that responsibility tremendously. And I believe many of my classmates felt it too. But we also knew how to have fun. We made the most of our college experience, built friendships, and created memories while understanding that ultimately, we had a job to do: graduate and make something of ourselves.
There was another lesson we learned at ECSU. We didn’t have to attend Chapel Hill, North Carolina State, or Duke to make an impact.
We were attending an HBCU, and that experience taught us not to be intimidated by anyone.
Some people may look at what HBCU graduates have accomplished and call it overachievement or luck. Those of us who lived it don’t necessarily see it that way. We see it as doing what we expected of ourselves. We expected to compete. We expected to succeed. And we expected to represent our families, our schools and our communities with pride.
That mindset became even more important to me in the Fall of 1988 when I became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated with five other young men in the Epsilon Alpha Chapter at ECSU. I was number six (6Klub). I chose Kappa because I believed in its fundamental purpose: “Achievement in All Fields of Human Endeavors.”
Those words resonated with me then, and they continue to resonate with me today. Our Founders understood something that I believe remains incredibly important. They worked in different industries and recognized that they had to strive to be the best at what they did. But their motivation wasn’t simply personal success or making life better for themselves and their families. They understood that they were establishing a standard for the men who would come after them. They had to achieve so that another young Black man would hopefully have a fair opportunity to demonstrate his own talent and potential.
That concept of achievement as a responsibility stayed with me throughout my life. One Kappa man who influenced me tremendously was Hall of Fame basketball player Bill Russell. He represented something that went far beyond basketball championships. He stood for achievement, intelligence, and pride in oneself. He wasn’t concerned about whether everyone liked him or agreed with his beliefs. He wasn’t going to allow himself to be intimidated.
That example had a profound impact on me. Over the years, I’ve learned to stand on what I believe, even when I have to stand alone. That doesn’t mean believing you’re always right. It means having enough conviction to stand behind your principles when doing so isn’t necessarily popular or convenient. I believe that lesson helped me become a stronger and more respected leader among my colleagues, friends, and social circles.
Looking back, I can see how the experiences at ECSU and Kappa Alpha Psi became intertwined. ECSU taught me that I could compete in the marketplace. Kappa taught me that achievement carries a responsibility to the next generation. These lessons are part of my leadership philosophy.
My career allowed me to work in business development, marketing, sales, management, strategic planning, and project management. I’ve earned an MBA and a master’s degree in Project Management, but some of the most important lessons I’ve learned weren’t taught in a classroom. They came from people. They came from adversity. They came from watching leaders who refused to be intimidated. And, they came from understanding that success means more when you can use it to create opportunities for someone else.
That philosophy eventually led me to entrepreneurship. Today, I am the founder of Mocha Lion Coffee, a specialty coffee company created around the belief that coffee should be more than a morning routine. It should be an experience that creates connection, conversation, and community.
Mocha Lion Coffee is the name of Ken Currey’s specialty coffee company. Image provided by Ken Currey. (Credit: Photo courtesy of Ken Currey) Credit: Ken Currey
Mocha Lion is another expression of the values I’ve carried throughout my life. The lion represents strength, courage, confidence, and leadership. Those qualities are important to me because entrepreneurship requires every one of them. My company’s philosophy is captured in our simple phrase: “Every sip tells a story.”
I believe that because my story is made up of many chapters. ECSU is one of those chapters. Kappa Alpha Psi is another. My career is another, and Mocha Lion Coffee represents the chapter I am writing now.
I am proud of my time at Elizabeth City State University. I am a proud member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and I am proud to be an entrepreneur building something that I hope will have an impact beyond simply selling coffee.
From the halls of a small HBCU in Elizabeth City, NC to the brotherhood of Kappa Alpha Psi, from a career in business to building Mocha Lion Coffee, my journey continues. I am still striving to achieve not simply for myself, but in honor of those who came before me, those who walk beside me, and those who will come after me.
Achievement in All Fields of Human Endeavors. For me, that isn’t simply a Kappa motto. It is a way of life.
Ken Currey is an entrepreneur, business coach, seasoned business development and marketing executive with more than 20 years of leadership experience. A proud graduate of Elizabeth City State University and member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Incorporated, Ken is the founder of Mocha Lion Coffee and remains passionate about leadership, entrepreneurship, mentorship, and creating opportunities for those coming behind him.
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