It's Been a Long Time Coming: Corey Hopkins' Journey of Passion and Purpose

In this inspiring episode of Little Big Voices, Mark talks with Corey Hopkins, a filmmaker, musician, and digital media mentor at the African American Youth Harvest Foundation (AAYHF) in Austin, Texas.

Corey shares his early days in the music industry, from being discovered by LaFace Records at age 17 to his time in the group Mason Road and appearances on BET. He opens up about the challenges and setbacks that led him to pursue a solo music career while working at Amazon, and how he used music and songwriting to process his emotions during difficult times.

We dive into Corey's journey to AAYHF and finding his passion for mentoring youth in videography and life skills through the Krew12 program. Corey tells the story of meeting AAYHF leader Michael Lofton and how his belief in Corey's potential changed everything, leading to building a media studio from an empty room and creating over 200 episodes highlighting the organization's impact.

Corey shares the power of speaking your dreams into existence and putting in the work to make them a reality. He discusses teaching kids creativity, collaboration, problem-solving, and professionalism through filmmaking projects, and how working with the youth has transformed his own life and music.

The conversation explores Corey's reflections on his personal growth, relationships, and the wisdom gained from hitting "rock bottom". Corey opens up about the role of family, faith, and fatherhood in shaping his path, and shares what's next for him, AAYHF, and his production company Love Arrangements.

Connect with Corey Hopkins: Instagram: @coreyh3d Love Arrangements: lovearrangements.org/

Learn more about AAYHF's programs and how to support their mission: https://aayhf.org/

Check out Corey singing "A Change is Gonna Come" written by Sam Cooke, which he says is the soundtrack to his life. The video was produced and directed by Little Big Voices.

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The views expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the producers. (c) 2026 Little Big Voices

My guest today is Don Hale. He was a West-Texas boy who headed to college on a music scholarship, majored in theatre, and later studied for his masters in inter-disciplinary technology.

After graduation, Don worked as a movie actor and launched several theatre companies in Los Angeles. He eventually moved back to Texas where he wrote, produced, and directed children’s musicals and created a touring theater company.

He taught language arts, history, and theatre to middle-school and high school students for over 25 years – during which he took hundreds of students on pilgrimages to Assisi, Italy. He is currently a certified Academic Coach - his mission to help students co-create and reach their academic goals. He serves and has for over for over 20 years as the youth director for a church in Austin, Texas, where he guides the youth program, leads youth pilgrimages to the Lama Foundation in New Mexico, and oversees the Youth Rite of Passage program. He just returned from his own 500-mile Camino Santiago pilgrimage walk in Spain.

Today, we’ll be visiting with Don on topics he’s very passionate about, including rites of passage, pilgrimages, and the hero/shero journey. Hang tight, y’all - this will be cool – I promise.

Show Notes:
Contact:
Message Don: If you are a parent, teacher or young person, and would like to explore academic coaching, feel free to contact Don at donhale@academicalchemy.org or visit his website, Academic Alchemy.

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References:
Rites of Passage
Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage Walk
The Hero's Journey

Adult Rites of Passage:
Woman Within
The Mankind Project