ATLANTA — Every mother’s dream is for their children to be happy, healthy, successful and to chase their dreams.

For Roberta Shields, seeing her son Chris Ludacris Bridges live his dreams, raise a beautiful family, give back to the community, and inspire people all over the world is a blessing.

Shields studied at the University of Illinois and is a proud Alpha Kappa Alpha member. Her passion has always been people.

“I get it from my father as well as my mother,” she said. “I learned from my father that obstacles may come, and you just need to make a decision of whether you’re going to go over them, through them, or under them. Either way, you will get past them.”

Shields, who is the president of the Ludacris Foundation, says they are celebrating nearly 25 years of being active in the community. Ludacris’ passion for giving back to others began at a young age and inspired him to create his Ludacris Foundation.

“It really started with him going to church and the missionaries and giving back when he was young,” she said. “His formal giving back and interacting with the community began with him working with Cathy Hughes at Radio One.”

At a young age, her son Chris wanted to make music just like his childhood idol, LL Cool J. Shields always made sure that he wrote down his goals and put in the work to achieve his dreams.

Shields, a Springfield, Illinois native, moved to the Atlanta area several years ago and was grateful to be welcomed with southern hospitality.

“When you come from a smaller area, everyone is friendly, everyone says hello to each other and your entertainment comes from within,” she said.

Shields recalled one year when Ludacris surprised a young fan by taking her to the prom.

“The young lady was in a wheelchair, and Chris showed up at her house and it was a big surprise. I could feel the excitement and the delight of the young lady. That was an amazing feeling,” she said.

Shields says it is a joy giving back to others.

“One day, we were in the College Park area doing Christmas baskets and a woman looked at me and said, ‘may God continue to bless you so you can continue to bless us.’ That is something that has stuck with me for a long time,” Shields said. “You see and feel their joy and share their joy. Seeing individuals who we have given to also give back to others is amazing.”

Last month, the Ludacris Foundation launched the Tech Tunes program which is a new initiative that combines music-making with AI. The pilot program was held at the Utopian Academy for the Arts High School in Clayton County.

“You know you’re doing the right thing when you’re teaching, and our young people are engaged,” she said. “We want to bring education to the community in a fun way. “We’re extremely delighted that the students were excited about the material, and they had the hands on to learn the prompting because prompting and AI are the future.”

Shields says she wants to make music with Tech Tunes in the future.

Shields says it has been a joy being a part of the Ludacris Foundation for a long time.

“The joy of being a part of the Ludacris Foundation is the brand has always been the same. To be authentic, to go where community is and meet the community where they are. We have been blessed to have so many wonderful experiences in reaching out to the community,” she continued.

The Ludacris Foundation has programs including LudaCares and has been involved in the Make a Wish foundation, Thanksgiving food drives, Christmas toy drives, food baskets, visiting hospitals, and inspiring others.

Shields says women should be celebrated, highlighted and learn about the history of the women trailblazers during women’s history month and every month.

“I think that is a very powerful message, and more than ever, there is a need to lift our voices in women’s history month for those young girls aren’t hearing it,” she said. “I think it is more necessary in our current environment to lift up women, to create networking communities where we’re sharing our achievements and success road maps. Not every young girl is growing up in an environment where they are hearing about women’s achievement. By highlighting Women’s History Month, we are saying to young girls here are the achievements of women.”

Shields doesn’t have to look far to find inspiration.

“People inspire me. I get my gift for learning from my father, and I get my compassion from my mother,” Shields said. “I’m really passionate about the communities that I work with and people I encounter, and those are the things that inspire me. I love to play golf, I love people and I love investing in people and the community. I believe in the power of community and the power of network.”

While the world knows her son as one of the greatest rappers of all time, she sees him as a genuine human being, great family man, and passionate philanthropist.

“I remember one day, he did a video shoot, a commercial, and we were doing our giveback to the community on the same day, so it was a really busy day,” she said. “Chris called me and said, ‘mom I had the best day ever. And he said the best day ever was the fact that he was able to give back to the community. I thought of all of the things that he did that day, his best day ever was he was being able to go into the community and hand out food baskets. That speaks to why I’m most proud of Chris. It is for the genuine person that he is and how he connects with people at all levels.”

Shields says she is proud of everything that her son has accomplished throughout his life.

“For the accolades he’s gotten from the entertainment industry, I’m extremely proud of him. I’m proud of the father and husband that he is and the individual that he is,” she said. “I’m extremely proud of Chris for the achievements he has made, because I know they came from him having a vision, having a dream, working a plan, and writing down goals for himself.”

Shields offered advice for anyone chasing their dreams.

“Hopefully, there is someone in your life that believes in you and sees positive,” she said. “Don’t give so much energy to the negative voices. Often times, negative energy can become inside you and keep you down. Those are the obstacles that you have to go through them, over them or under them. Listen to those still voices within yourself and say, ‘I am somebody and these are the things that I want to achieve.”

For more information about the Ludacris Foundation or volunteering, visit the website LudacrisFoundation.org and click on the get involved section or visit the Ludacris Foundation social media here.