Crossover Development Company

from IMPACT Magazine Capital Campaign Edition 2021

Crossover Preparatory Academy

Pictured above: De’Shawn, Ahlicia, and Dre’Shawn at their high school graduation.

Personal Finance and Entrepreneurial Support Classes will happen in the Crossover Community Center!

This is not my first job within the crossover organization...I was a part of the First group of StreetLeaders that worked at Hawthorne Elementary school.

by De’Shawn Lewis

This Memorial Day Weekend, I was able to host my mentor and his family at my home as they returned to Tulsa from Law School in Colorado. I was able to care for them by making sure they had turkey burgers, 3-on-3 basketball, and love from all of my friends as they have cared for me and my family for a number of years. Who would have thought that my eighth grade Math Teacher would become my lifelong mentor, and who would have guessed that my relationship with him would lead to me having a family of my own? My name is De’Shawn Lewis, and I work on the crew for Crossover Development Company. This is not my first job within the Crossover organization, and my mentor was the one that helped me get that job actually. I was a part of the first group of StreetLeaders who worked at Hawthorne Elementary School. I was a new father at the time, and I needed a job that could help me provide for my little guy, Dre’Shawn. My mentor and his new wife had helped me and my girlfriend Ahlicia get our son into Educare, and they helped us get jobs to help provide for our son. We were in high school at this point, but they continued to walk alongside us. When we graduated from high school, they helped us through pre-marital counseling, and Pastor Philip married us in my mentor’s Living Room. Then they allowed us to live with them while we looked for a house of our own, and they helped us to prepare for life without them. As they transitioned to Law School, we transitioned to our home that they helped us renovate. I never imagined that I would be a homeowner at the age of 23, but my mentor and his wife helped make this a possibility. Our house is in the Hawthorne neighborhood and since I started working for Crossover Development Company, I could walk to work since we are renovating the homes in my neighborhood. We are revitalizing houses, so that more people can be homeowners like my wife and me. I have learned a lot about home construction through my job, and I am grateful for the opportunity to receive the NCCER (National Center for Construction Education and Research) Certification that I can take with me to get any construction job I want in the future. My wife is pregnant with our third little one, and I am grateful that I am able to prepare a place for my little baby. I might have to get a little basketball goal for my baby since I already have a big one for me. I like my neighborhood, and I like the fact that I get to make a difference in my community through my job with Crossover Development Company. This Memorial Day Weekend, I was able to host my mentor and his family at my home as they returned to Tulsa from Law School in Colorado. I was able to care for them by making sure they had turkey burgers, 3-on-3 basketball, and love from all of my friends as they have cared for me and my family for a number of years. Who would have thought that my eighth grade Math Teacher would become my lifelong mentor, and who would have guessed that my relationship with him would lead to me having a family of my own?

De’Shawn Lewis has been married to his wife Ahlicia for 6 years. They are the proud parents of Dre’Shawn, Ahliah, and Baby Lewis due to arrive December 2021. De’Shawn takes great pride in caring for his family, friends, and community. He has been a great addition to Crossover Development Company, and we are all excited to continue to watch him grow and develop into a man after God’s own heart.

-De’shawn L.