July 7, 2025
Meeting Street Scholarship Fund founder Ben Navarro sat down with the newest class of Scholarship recipients during an inspiring conversation at this year’s Celebration Summit.
As students prepare to head off to campuses across the state, they had the opportunity to ask Navarro questions about his life experience, and he offered a compelling blend of real-world advice, humor and honesty.
Drawing inspiration from Gavin Hewitt’s speech, Navarro introduced a powerful metaphor: college as a blank canvas and students as the artists.
“Your classes are just a small part of that canvas,” he said. “You have to fill it with paint.”
He urged students to think intentionally about how they’ll bring their canvas to life—not just with coursework but with experiences, relationships, challenges and growth.
That idea of intentionality ran throughout the entire conversation. Navarro, who teaches a course at the nearby College of Charleston on the subject, described intentionality as building a foundation for success through habits, discipline and clarity of purpose.
“This is your reset,” he told students. “Wherever you’ve been for the last 18 years, bring the good stuff with you, and leave the rest behind. Start today and be intentional about who you want to be.”
Navarro shared stories of his college years, which included waiting tables five nights a week, working at the student union, and launching a student discount card business to help pay for tuition. “There wasn’t a scholarship program like this,” he said. “So, I had to figure it out.”
One of his most valuable lessons? Real-world experience matters.
“I learned way more outside the classroom than in it,” he said, noting that part-time jobs teach structure, accountability and how to work with people.
In a world where comparison is only a scroll away, Navarro challenged students to shift their focus inward.
“What are you supposed to compare yourself to?” Navarro asked. “Yourself. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday.”
He called this the “magic formula” for real change: not overnight success, but consistent, incremental improvement. “No one’s looking for perfection,” he said. “Just a little better, every day.”
Navarro didn’t shy away from discussing the harder parts of growth, either. He encouraged students to seek out discomfort—not avoid it—as a path to finding their voice, their confidence and even their future opportunities.
“Ask the question in class. Invite a stranger to coffee. Growth lives just beyond what feels easy,” he said. “You don’t meet the right people by staying in your comfort zone.”
The students asked thoughtful questions about finding friends, choosing the right community and staying motivated. Navarro offered this rule of thumb: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” he said. “If someone is toxic, get rid of them. Life is too hard to have people around who suck the life out of you.”
Instead, he urged students to get out there, engage in conversations, join clubs and remain open-minded.
“Your people might not look or sound like you,” he said. “That’s the beauty of it.”
And while much of the conversation focused on outward choices and actions, Navarro also emphasized the inward journey. He spoke about the power of solitude, not as isolation, but as a path to resilience and self-awareness.
“Happiness doesn’t come from out there,” he said, gesturing beyond the room. “It comes from in here (tapping his heart).”
He encouraged students to spend quiet time reflecting, walking or journaling to “learn more about who you are, accept who you are, and then you can begin to build resiliency.”
Throughout the conversation, Navarro returned to the importance of gratitude.
“I’ve never met a happy person who isn’t also a grateful person,” he said.
He spoke candidly about growing up with seven siblings, little money and a lot of responsibility.
“At the time, I thought it was hardship,” he said. “Now I realize it was a gift. It molded me.”
To the students, he added, “If someone helped get you here today, thank them. Turn around, give them a hug. Don’t be a knucklehead like I was.”
As the session came to a close, Navarro offered one final, memorable reflection.
“You’ve won the genetic lottery just by being here. The odds of life itself are one in a trillion,” he said. “But here’s the catch—your genes don’t actually care if you’re happy. They just care that you survive. So, who’s responsible for your happiness? You are. No one’s coming to save you. What you do with this opportunity—it’s up to you.”
As these students step forward into their next chapter, they do so with more than a scholarship. They leave the Celebration Summit carrying wisdom, challenge, inspiration and a renewed sense of ownership over their happiness and the direction of their lives. Because, as Navarro reminded them, the canvas is theirs to fill.
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