Why Life Thru Music (LTM)?

In 2005, Dr. Mervin Jenkins founded Life Thru Music while working as an assistant principal at Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. During this time, he also gained national exposure under his hip-hop moniker Spectac. Working with a Grammy-Award-winning producer and charting Billboard‘s Top 100 Hip-Hop and R&B Singles were just a few of the accolades that helped Dr. Jenkins bring together two cultures that seemed worlds apart.  However, it was his unique ability to make hip-hop work in education that made his impact on communities that much more powerful. It didn’t take long for Dr. Jenkins to find his voice in facilitating crucial dialogue around inequities pertaining to diversity and closing the achievement and opportunity gaps. His heart-felt message and approach, which began in one school district, has since been heard around the nation. Dr. Jenkins knows what a great school culture and climate can do for a community, he understands the process for making it happen, and he has dedicated his life’s work to sharing this with others.         

 

Dr. Jenkins has worked as a middle school teacher, high school assistant principal, middle school principal, central office administrator, and director for a nationally recognized college-readiness organization. He is currently the Senior Partnership Manager for a thriving edtech company. Dr. Jenkins has received numerous accolades for his work in education. He was twice awarded the Zeta Phi Beta Southeastern Regional Education Award, named Tar Heel of the Week in Raleigh’s News & Observer, interviewed on NPR (The Story with Dick Gordon), and honored as Chatham County Schools Principal of the Year.  In 2014, Dr. Jenkins was invited to the White House to participate in a roundtable discussion on the education of Hispanic males in the United States. As a speaker, Dr. Jenkins inspires students, parents and guardians, and educators on the importance of student learning and its direct impact on our community.

 

Dr. Jenkins received his Bachelor of Arts in Art Education from Benedict College and his Master of Education in Secondary Education Administration and his Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina where he resides with his wife, Chiffon.