Meet Devereaux Stone

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Devereaux Stone. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Devereaux below.

Devereaux, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?
My resilience comes from belief in my purpose/vision & ability to adapt. No one will see the end goal, but YOU most times.

Personally, my friends/family didn’t understand my path, or my choice to find a lane that suited who I was. What I realized is the more niche, or unconventional the goal, the more unrealistic it seems but being trained in a showbiz atmosphere you learn how to stay ready, & roll with the punches.

So many people tried to talk me out of my destiny because they didn’t understand, or thought it was foolish. I also dealt with a lot of “sabotage”, which reinforced my drive because that taught me others could see the strength in my mission.

Don’t listen to the doubts. Don’t even get mad at the people who provide & project them. Most times they (1) love you & want the best for you, (2) they’re scared or even nervous for you; it’s your vision, not theirs…

Be confident, & almost delusional for the best results.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
We deliver quality dance programming in the form of step/drill team execution. Our purpose is to provide access to master-level dance education, enrichment & fitness. We bestow our ‘roomates” with inner-confidence, discipline,
& self-awareness, with a prime focus on entrepreneurship, while being the worlds first dance company dedicated to the Art of Fancy Drill. Most of this work is established at the school & afterschool level.
Our new initiative, HODS Citywide Youth is our first program developed specifically for the community.

Who: Youth ages 9–19, including current or former “roommates” who have aged out of other HODS teams.

When & Where: Every Saturday at the George Washington Carver Museum in Austin.

Purpose:
• Deliver drill dance training to students outside the AISD Afterschool offerings.
• Offer continued education and performance opportunities for committed dancers beyond the traditional program structure.

Please catch up on our company happenings by tuning into our reality show on YouTube! See the work that goes into running a dance company, creating new ventures & dealing with roommate drama only at youtube.com/drillGAWD!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
3 impactful skills that have helped me on my journey are pretty simple, actually. Ppl ask all the time how I’m able to continue getting support in what I do. I always say “I could tell you many tactics, but the main thing is….” TREATING OTHERS WELL.
I’d like to think I get a lot of my creativity from my maternal grandmother, & she was the epitome of this saying. She always taught that manners will get you where money won’t. If people actually like you, that’s half the battle in obtaining opportunity.

Also, PERSISTENCE is key. People on my life often let me know that I struggle with letting things go. I’m very passionate about most things & this is necessary, most of the time.

Sometimes you’ll have to really sell your vision. It may not always work, but keep trying. This goes back your belief almost mirroring delusion.

Lastly, DON’T LISTEN TO PEOPLE. They don’t have your journey, your drive, or your story. I could make this a very long read with storytimes of folks trying to talk me out of my dream job. Even my mom! I don’t think people do this in malice. Most times it’s out of love, but it’s important to not let people project onto you.
Take the meat. Leave the bones.

Okay, so before we go, is there anyone you’d like to shoutout for the role they’ve played in helping you develop the essential skills or overcome challenges along the way?
My choral director, Frank Scinta, is my hero in real life human form. He has taught me so much throughout the years that I carry with me, even today! He probably doesn’t know this, but he has been the single-most impactful figure in my entire life. He instilled so many techniques & tools of vocal performance. He reinforced the power of producing shows, but more importantly he made us understand how paramount it was to be humble. He let us know the principal was just as important as the janitor because we need them both succeed. He taught character.

“Good, better, best.
Never let it rest
until your good is better,
& your better is best” is a saying I still have the roommates recite to this day!
I’m not sure if he remembers me, but at the time it felt like he made a deeply personal investment in my greatness at a time when I needed it most.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
@tikacreations @nextlanevisuals

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