If someone had told young Darian Stephan he would one day be working for the Bucks, introducing Obama at a rally and being the president of his fraternity at Marquette University, he wouldn’t have believed you.
Stephan, a senior in the College of Communication, did not know if he would attend college. When he was two years old his mom died in a car accident, and that same accident left his dad disabled which made it hard for him to provide for Darian and his brother.
Originally from the north side of Milwaukee, Stephan poured his heart into a dream: Graduating from college and being a role model for kids who see themselves in him.
“A lot of people in my family, even myself, could have chosen a different route, not go to college, and maybe ended up in some trouble down the line,” Stephan said. “A lot of my family members are in jail as well, so I just wanted to be that person in my family to create change.”
Stephan is the president of his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, a board member for his scholarship program and corporate responsibility intern for the Bucks. On top of that, he has always had to work multiple other jobs to support himself.
When Stephan walked into his job at Walmart on Nov. 1, he thought it would be like any normal day, but little did he know he would get a call from his mentor, John Daniels III, that would change his life.
Daniels, president and director of the MKE fellows, a mentoring program for Black men, asked Stephan if he’d like to introduce Obama at a rally in Milwaukee on Nov. 2, the Sunday before the 2024 presidential election.
“I was like, ‘You want me? Are you serious?’ I didn’t believe it,” Stephan said. “I was in disbelief at first. And then, of course, I was like, ‘Yes.'”
Flash forward to the rally, Stephan walked out onto the stage at the Baird Center and looked out at a sea of Milwaukeeans. Thousands of faces, each person with a story to tell, but they were all waiting to hear his.
“You know how you dream of something so big and it’s like, I wouldn’t even think that I could dream of something like that,” Stephan said. “And it just came to me, and it fell in my hands.”
Stephan told the audience about having pride in Milwaukee, and despite the loss of his mother, working hard every day to make his dreams come true.
“It was almost as if the audience was full of people who were rooting for him,” Daniels said.
But Stephan said the only faces in the crowd that truly mattered to him were his family’s. Everything he had done up to this point was to set a good example and make them proud of the man he has become.
“I feel like it’s been inspirational for my younger siblings and my younger cousins because they see me on that stage and think, ‘I could do that because if he can do it, anyone can do it,'” Stephan said.
Daniels said Stephan is someone who encourages the people who are following in his footsteps. He said what Stephan does on a day-to-day basis does not only set an example for the other kids, it sets an example for Daniels too.
“Oftentimes people talk about what they learn from their mentors, but I also think mentors can learn a lot from their mentees,” Daniels said.
Stephan has been on a transformative journey since his freshman year but credits these opportunities to the people who have supported him from day one.
He considers JohnRae Stowers, director of the Educational Opportunities Program at Marquette, someone who served as a mother-like figure throughout his college career. She is from the same neighborhood as Stephan’s family and said having similar roots brought them together.
“Darian came in freshman year full of life, high energy,” Stowers said. “It was like ‘I see you. I see you where you’re from. I see where you’re trying to go, and I’m going to help you get there.’”
Stowers said Stephan has come a long way from his first year when she had a swear jar in her office for him. She said he has grown into an articulate, sophisticated and distinguished young man.
After college, Stephan wants to either work for a non-profit or continue to do corporate responsibility work for a sports team. He wants to take what he’s learned from his mentors and be that light for others.
“Darian has a heart to give and the passion to serve, but he also has swag,” Stowers said. “He’s a wonderful example to young people. He makes it look cool to do the things he’s doing.”
Moving forward, Stephan said his goal is to uplift others while he climbs. Stowers said she hopes Stephan will be a role model and continue to hold his family at the forefront of his mind.
“I’m so proud of him,” Stowers said. “And I think his mom is so proud of him too.”
This story was written by Sophia Tiedge. She can be reached at [email protected].
