Women trio recognized for community impact

Jonesboro, Arkansas – Carolyn Shepherd, Robbie Lyle, and Harriet Hyatt were all leaders in the Jonesboro community.

In the 1980′s, they helped bring the Rights in Education for Students and Parents or RESP Incorporated program to Jonesboro.

This program empowered African Americans in Jonesboro with knowledge of the education system in the area.

They presented other routes that lead to a promising career and showed students and their parents that college was not the only route to be successful.

‘We had carpenters, licensed carpenters, saying I can be a carpenter all of these things to the kids that did not have the opportunity for schooling”, said Robbie Lyle who is a retired director of TRIO Programs at Arkansas State University.

According to Lyle, it meant the world to be honored for serving a community that gave her so much. Helping students succeed was her main goal during the program.

All three of these ladies are the last living founders of RESP Incorporated.