Fay Blake forges her own pathway to success

Growing up in Selbyville in the 1950s, Fay Blake watched her grandmother walk a mile along the railroad tracks every day to work.

Maggie Matilda Mayfield, a beautiful, stately woman, never complained. She starched her clothes, curled her bangs and perfected the placement of her bun. Then, she'd head out the door to go clean a white family's home. When she returned, she worked the corner store she ran out of her home.

In a voice like velvet, Blake said, her grandmother would quietly remind her that no matter how little they had, it was their job to give to those who had even less.

“She taught me perseverance,” Blake said. “She'd say people can take many things from you, but the one thing they can't take is your knowledge. She told me I was smart, and I believed her.”

When Blake was only 6 years old, Mayfield passed away: Blake moved in with her mother and father. He was a violent alcoholic, and the family struggled with poverty. In the weeks following Mayfield's death, with her mother devastated by her loss and her father off on a bender, Blake prepared meals of Maxwell House instant coffee and bread for herself and younger siblings.

Despite her family's difficulties, Blake found comfort in books and focused on her school work, always keeping her grandmother's kind words in mind. Just as Mayfield encouraged her to focus on gathering knowledge to build a better life, Blake's mother, Grace Taylor, also taught her young daughter to be steadfast.

“My journey wasn't easy, but I had awesome women as role models,” Blake said. Blake excelled in school, recalling that she knew how to read from day one.

Her journey included teen pregnancy and protecting her younger brother from her father's outbursts, but she graduated from high school and college with good grades. An entry-level job in the banking industry led her to multiple promotions, eventually earning the title as her company's first African-American vice president.

She married her high school sweetheart, Cornelius Blake, and established a successful career in a male-dominated field while raising a family.

“A lot of people said, 'Oh my god, that's so wonderful,' and in a way, it was, but, for me, it was sad because I knew that there had to be other people out there as talented as I was, but it's somewhat the sign of the times,” she said. “I was the only female on an all-white, male team. It really put me through my paces. But I hung in there and was later promoted to senior vice president. I learned a lot and had a wonderful, wonderful career.”

Eventually, though, Blake decided she was done with the business world. Her bank was bought and she decided some soul-searching was in order. The lessons from her family's matriarchs inspired her to try something new so she could make a difference in her community.

“I believe there's greatness in everyone,” Blake said.

With that in mind, Blake thought about children in her community who were struggling as she thought about her next career move. Two years after leaving the corporate world, Blake founded Pathways to Success, a nonprofit organization that offers guidance and after-school assistance and programs for high school students who might drop out.

“I really wanted to do something where I could give back,” she said. “I have been incredibly blessed. To come from where I came from, I'm humbled. I'm grateful. But to me, gratefulness is not just simply being thankful for what you have. Gratefulness, to me, is not only being thankful for what I have, but understanding I have an obligation to do something to give to someone else.”

Living a life of service to others, especially to at-risk teens, isn't always an easy task.

In Blake's first interview for the program, a 14-year-old student walked into a meeting room at Sussex Tech High School. When Blake asked her to take a seat, profanities and anger spewed from the girl's mouth. She wasn't about to be told whether to sit or stand.

“Finally she took a breath, and I said, 'Oh my gosh, girl, I am out of breath for you!'” The girl started laughing and then started listening. “'I've got a news flash for you: There's absolutely nothing that you can say that's going to shock me. I've been around for a minute. And you're going to find that there is little that you can do to make me walk away from you.”

Blake promised the girl that if she skipped school for two days in a row, on the third day, she'd be knocking on her front door. And sure enough, the girl skipped school, and Blake showed up, knocking on the front door.

“I know what it's like for someone to walk away,” Blake said. “I know the emptiness; I know the hurt.” Blake convinced the girl to go back to class, and helped her graduate, and now the former Pathways student has a full-time job in Dover.

In 2012, that troubled teenage girl joined the first round of Pathways to Success students at graduation. After four years of help from Blake and her small team counselors, the 35 students pegged as drop-outs collected their diplomas.

“They were expected not to graduate,” Blake said, beaming with pride at the success of the program. Seven of those students are on track to graduate with four-year college degrees this year.

Since starting the program, Blake decided to go back to school for a master's in behavioral science, so she can better understand what the students need to succeed.

“We just can't take for granted what these kids go through,” Blake said. “We need to help kids understand that they are so much more than their circumstances. That feeling of knowing who you are and knowing that there is absolutely nothing that you believe can defeat you, it gives you such power. ”

Blake said she wouldn't know anything about that powerful feeling without the lessons cultivated at an early age by her grandmother.

“Power comes from within. It is not about the circumstance,” she said. “And we can rise above so many things if we feel that value. All of the hardships that I have been through have only been stepping stones to help me understand just how powerful I really am. And that's the kind of empowerment I want every one of these kids to have.”