I’ll Settle for 44K for My Birthday
Well, this Friday, May 11, 2012 I’ll be officially one year older. It’s been quite a journey and I’m so thankful to everyone who has supported me over the years. It was just over 4 years ago with the prospect of turning 40 that I decided to lay everything on the line and pursue what I believed in. I have no regrets. During that time, I have helped to provide educational and career opportunities for over 1500 teachers and students in Central Texas and have dropped 80+ lbs. None of it has been easy, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. Even now, as I face a seemingly insurmountable task of of raising 44K to support the It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy that kicks off exactly 1 month after my birthday, I only get excited about the opportunity to serve others.
I’ve come to believe that the previous 20 years of my adult life were ultimately about my own selfish and gluttonous pursuits. Not to say that I was on a negative track at all. I was a school teacher in priority schools, developed web sites and software, produced and played music, broke into the advertising community and generally had a good time. Nevertheless, I realize that I was indeed fearful of truly venturing out on my own. My entrepreneurial endeavors were half-baked and I was unwilling to deal with the hardships that come with virulent commitment to seeing such things through to their conclusion.
And then their was my physical state. I was obese. I estimate that I was at least 330lbs at one time. I was in serious DENIAL and headed to an early grave. It’s amazing the lengths that one can go through to remain in that state. I have never been skinny. Nevertheless, I was an all state athlete in high school and frankly despite my natural gifts I was lazy. I worked hard on the field and in practice but I never really dedicated my own personal time to getting in shape. Working out was just what I had to ‘deal with” in order to play the sport I loved at the time – high school football. After high school and no real attention from major colleges, I set those dreams aside to pursue a music degree.
I love music but I also came to recognize that performing was not my true passion. I didn’t have a need to be on stage or really even be validated in that way. Again, I had some natural gifts and I worked hard at honing them to a certain extent. Nevertheless, I was often bored with music. In my 30′s I began to discover the art of “producing”… that is facilitating for others. I have a knack for recognizing talent and putting them in situations where they can flourish. Whether it was music, voice over, software development or media production, I began to figure out that was my sweet spot. I prefer to be in the background making things happen for others. That is what brings me joy.
Robotics instructor Mark Barron explains the basketball playing robot his students developed this year.
Some of my best days are visiting classrooms to interact with students and teachers. Great teachers inspire me because they often times toil away in relative obscurity. They are driven by more than money and they really love their students. They go beyond teaching subjects and teach people. That’s the difference. I get excited just being around them because their dedication is infectious. They are the real game changers. All of the things that I have experienced to date have prepared me for what I do today… being an athlete, a creative, an educator, a techie allows me to see connections that others may not. The issues we face today are not going to be addressed by traditional approaches to education because the nature of work has profoundly changed. Modern product development is not done in silos. Great creative without technical infrastructure is virtually useless and the same goes for innovative tech devoid of good design.
The It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy addresses this issue. 20 students who have competed via portfolio submissions come together for 5 weeks to learn from the best and the brightest across media, tech, finance, health and science to develop digital content and applications to promote healthy lifestyles among their peers. Even better, they get to return to their respective communities in the fall to execute and measure the products they create during the summer. This IS modern product development. Harness creativity, technology and science to solve real problems. These tasks are not beyond our youth. It’s just that we’ve never really engaged them in process.
So, if you believe in my passion, I need your help. As little as $10 helps us accomplish our goals for the summer and gets you special perks via our Indiegogo campaign.
Help Me Hire & Train 20 Youth This Summer
2012 E4 Youth Portfolio Award Winners
Over the past several months, I have been paying professional mentors and teachers to help students prepare professionally reviewed portfolios in their chosen fields of interest. Over 50 students from Austin and Pflugerville ISDs have submitted their portfolios to become one of 20 students we will hire and train for 5 weeks at the It Could Be U Summer Academy which kicks off in June. Students are led by 3 professional mentors in the fields of science / technology, media / arts and business along with a slate of top notch Guest Lecturers from advertising, technology, science and business. After surveying these fields, students join a business group and develop digital applications and content designed to promote healthy lifestyles. Students that complete the academy return to their respective campuses in the fall to be employed year round to execute and measure the products they have developed during the summer academy.
So, what does that mean for students? Well, if you’re a musician, that may mean writing music that you believe can influence your peers to lead healthier lifestyles and then being able to track and measure that affect over time. If you’re into software development, maybe that means developing an app leveraging Google APIs to help your peers find healthy food sources in their neighborhoods. Into journalism? Perhaps you choose to launch a podcast series or cooking show targeting your peers? The point is that a student can utilize their passion and creativity to solve real problems bringing them genuine confidence, recognition and yes, money! It Could Be U Academy graduates become community advocates that are empowered to leverage media, technology and access to a network of highly skilled professional mentors looking to make a difference!
So, this is my CALL TO ACTION for you to support the It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy!
DONATE and help us HIRE 20 deserving high school youth! They’ll work with top professionals as they develop digital media and applications to promote healthy lifestyles. You can give as little as 10 bucks and get special perks such as early releases of products, personalized video post cards or even help more students participate and get a shot at a year round part time job.
Check out this short documentary that follows students as they seek out mentors and submit their portfolios.
See Who’s Getting a Job!
Austin Reagan high school students with Program Coordinator / Professional Mentor Jonthan Mahone.
See Who’s Getting a Job!
E4 Youth Portfolio Awards Thurs. 4.18 at GSD&M
Click to Register
Over the past several months, I have been paying professional mentors and teachers to help students prepare professionally reviewed portfolios in their chosen fields of interest. Over 50 students from Austin and Pflugerville ISDs have submitted their portfolios to become one of 20 students we will hire and train for 5 weeks at the It Could Be U Summer Academy which kicks off in June. Students are led by 3 professional mentors in the fields of science / technology, media / arts and business along with a slate of top notch Guest Lecturers from advertising, technology, science and business. After surveying these fields, students join a business group and develop digital applications and content designed to promote healthy lifestyles. Students that complete the academy return to their respective campuses in the fall to be employed year round to execute and measure the products they have developed during the summer academy.
What Does This Mean For Students?
So, what does that mean for students? Well, if you’re a musician, that may mean writing music that you believe can influence your peers to lead healthier lifestyles and then being able to track and measure that affect over time. If you’re into software development, maybe that means developing an app leveraging Google APIs to help your peers find healthy food sources in their neighborhoods. Into journalism? Perhaps you choose to launch a podcast series or cooking show targeting your peers? The point is that a student can utilize their passion and creativity to solve real problems bringing them genuine confidence, recognition and yes, money! It Could Be U Academy graduates become community advocates that are empowered to leverage media, technology and access to a network of highly skilled professional mentors looking to make a difference!
What Does This Mean for Professionals & Entrepreneurs?
And what does this mean for professionals and entrepreneurs? This is an opportunity to help students explore their career options while making a tangible difference in the community. Perhaps you can offer your expertise as a Guest Lecturer or on-going summer mentor to expose students to your field? You may wish to become a client or partner with us to promote healthy lifestyles or develop/manufacture a special product? You may want support us by contributing to It Could Be U Project Fund and receive special access as the project unfolds?
With E4 Youth, we have created a scalable year round process for exposing students to careers by providing access to teacher training and support, professional mentors, field trips, portfolio building and access to employment. The E4 Youth sequence of Engagement, Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship allows students to own their educational destinies and create a culture of achievement that transforms our communities. I hope that you will join me in celebrating the 2012 E4 Youth Portfolio Award Winners Thursday, April 18th 5:30pm at GSD&M and welcoming our new class of 20 It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy employees! Need more info? Email me at mentor@e4youth.com.
I’ll Pay You 50 Bucks to Help A Student Earn a Summer Job!
That’s right Austin. I will pay you… a teacher, a parent, a neighbor or a friend 50 bucks to help a student submit an on-line portfolio and compete for a summer job. What is an on-line portfolio? Well, it’s electronic examples of their work including photos, presentations, music, videos, podcasts, blogs… whatever it is they like to do. It could be a business idea, a robot, a song, an experiment… just document it electronically, have them list you as their advisor and post it along with a declaration of their field of interest on Media Xperiments by April 1, 2012!!! The first ten adults to notify me by email for pre-approval at mentor@e4youth.com and then have their student(s) submit a quality on-line portfolio, I will pay $50 by May 1, 2012.
We’ll have professionals from great companies like GSDM, McGarrah Jessee and AMS Pictures review their portfolios on-line, invite them to participate in a job shadow day on April 3rd and recognize the best work at the E4 Youth Portfolio Awards on April 18th. We’ll invite the top 20 students to work for 5 weeks this summer as a part of the It Could Be U Academy, an intensive summer employment program that focuses on capacity building and personal branding. Academy students will be compensated minimum wage for 5 weeks, 20 hours per week. This is not a joke or gimmick. I’m serious! For real, fo’ shizzle!!!!! So, help me get the word out! Share our hot new video too!!
Youth Seek Out Mentors at Austin’s Biggest Ad Awards Show
Student poses for her head shot.
10 Austin area students participating in the E4 Youth Portfolio Contest will be chaperoned by professionals from local advertising agency McGarrah Jessee as they seek out mentors at the Austin ADDY Awards Thursday, February 9, 2012 6:30pm. These students along with more than 100 others throughout Austin are building professionally reviewed portfolios as they compete for summer jobs. “The contest is open to all Austin area students but we have specialized mentors at 2 area high schools (Reagan, Eastside Memorial)” says E4 Youth founder Carl Settles Jr.. “These professional mentors along with one on one volunteer mentors we hope to connect students with at the ADDYs, work to provide extra support for teachers and help students to develop quality portfolios”.
ADDY youth attendees will also be featured in ads placed around the space and in the program book.
About E4 Youth
E4 Youth is based on the guiding principles of Engagement, Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship for youth. An outgrowth of a partnership between the Media Communications Council (MCC) and the University of Texas Intellectual Entrepreneurship Consortium, E4 Youth fosters high achievement by building teams of business leaders, paid graduate and undergraduate mentors and youth that focus on capacity building enrichment projects that drive economic growth while solving real problems in the community.
Brief History
Over the past 3 years, the Media Communications Council (MCC) has taken a leadership role on the issues of diversity, education and empowerment in Central Texas. In addressing these issues, the MCC has developed a number of innovative approaches and programs including the social learning platform Media Xperiments, an annual E4 Youth Portfolio Contest, intensive college and career discovery camps called It Could Be Us and the annual E4 Youth Summit. Throughout the implementation of all of these activities, media and exposure to media related careers has played a key role in driving engagement and grass roots support from all parts of the community.
Now, having cemented relationships with the University of Texas at Austin and the Austin Independent School District among others to serve as partners, the MCC has a comprehensive media driven approach that addresses key educational pipeline issues not only for under-served students interested in media careers but virtually any career path. This approach, which we call E4 Youth, takes students through the sequence of Engagement, Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship as they explore careers, build portfolios and contribute to a culture of achievement. The MCC currently operates under the auspices of the Austin Community Foundation a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization.
Cap City Chamber Ambassador of the Year
Press Release
5 February 2012
Carl Settles Jr. named Cap City African American Chamber’s Ambassador of the Year
Carl Settles Jr., Founder of the Media Communications Council (MCC) and the E4 Youth Initiative, is being honored Thursday, February 9th at the Omni Hotel as the Capital City African American Chamber of Commerce (CCAACC) Ambassador of the Year.
“I am honored to accept the Cap City Chamber’s Ambassador of the Year Award and proud to be a member of such a vibrant organization. I look forward to collaborating with the CCAACC’s members as the MCC continues the E4 Youth Initiative working with more than 100 Austin area students to build portfolios and compete for summer jobs”.
About Mr. Settles and the Media Communications Council
Over the past 3 years, the Media Communications Council (MCC) has taken a leadership role on the issues of diversity, education and empowerment in Central Texas. In addressing these issues, the MCC has developed a number of innovative approaches and programs including the social learning platform Media Xperiments, an annual E4 Youth Portfolio Contest, intensive college and career discovery camps called It Could Be Us and the annual E4 Youth Summit. Throughout the implementation of all of these activities, media and exposure to media related careers has played a key role in driving engagement and grass roots support from all parts of the community.
Now, having cemented relationships with the University of Texas at Austin and the Austin Independent School District among others to serve as partners, the MCC has a comprehensive media driven approach that addresses key educational pipeline issues not only for under-served students interested in media careers but virtually any career path. This approach, which we call E4 Youth, takes students through the sequence of Engagement, Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship as they explore careers, build portfolios and contribute to a culture of achievement. The MCC currently operates under the auspices of the Austin Community Foundation a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization.
The 1st of 4 Things To Remember About Ubiquitous Media
Media, from the Drum to the Gutenberg Bible to the iPad, has profoundly changed the ways that we interact, communicate and yes, make money. Media has been the “chicken grease” oiling the wheels of commerce and for better or worse media tells us what to think of ourselves. The big difference today is the ubiquity and comparative ease with which one can create quality media.
Since the invention of television, many have opined about media’s power as an educational tool. The dilemma has been engagement vs substance. Just because something has substance, doesn’t mean someone else wants to watch it. If given a choice between watching a dog on a skateboard or me speaking about cell division, well… I’ll take the dog, please.
In a world of ubiquitous media, it no longer makes sense for teachers to pretend they have all the answers. No one can know every concept thoroughly. And that brings me to the first thing to remember about Ubiquitous Media…
Great teachers teach students, not subjects
Humberto Perez is a great teacher in Pflugerville, TX.
Great teachers I know try to listen at least as much as they lecture and have genuine regard for their students as people. Getting to know your students may seem like a waste of time to some but until you really understand your students, how can you possibly know if you’re really helping them progress? And before you say “Give ‘em a test”, keep in mind that in Texas 4 out of 10 students that graduate from high school and pass standardized tests, need remedial Reading, Math and/or Science in order to enter college.
Great teachers are more like facilitators or guides than instructors. They provide a framework for students to explore and create value. Their lessons turn into projects and their classes turn into the school hang outs. Ubiquitous media is just another powerful arrow in their quiver. They may use the dog on the skateboard video to kick off a lesson on the laws of motion or film skateboarders in the class to demonstrate physics concepts. The point is, they are not intimidated by Ubiquitous Media.
Podcast: Pecha Kucha on E4 Youth
Pecha Kucha (Japanese: ペチャクチャ, IPA: [pet͡ɕa ku͍̥t͡ɕa],[1] chit-chat) is a presentation methodology in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each, usually seen in a multiple-speaker event called a Pecha Kucha Night (PKN).
-Wikipedia
Download Audio: Stem Council Pecha Kucha.
I’m rarely at a loss for words when it comes to education and this is not one of those times. 20 slides, 20 seconds a slide… A Good 7 Minute Primer on E4 Youth that finishes up with some calls to action.
1. Be a Guest Speaker. Volunteer Form
2. Host a Tour or Field Trip Volunteer Form
3. Judge On-line Portfolios Volunteer Form
4. Hire Students to Work for Your Business or Cause
5. Join the E4 Youth Board Membership Packet
Innovate: Strategies for Building A Creative Media | Business
Entrepreneurs Hajj Flemings, Hassan Johnson and Ashley.
The Capital City African American Chamber, in conjunction with the Media Communications Council, hosted a panel discussion called Innovate: Strategies for Building A Creative Media | Business November 16, 2011 at Austin Details Art & Photo. The event featured entrepreneurs Hajj Flemings (featured on CNN’s Black In America 4), Hassan Johnson – Tha Trunk Inc and Gina McCauley – Blogging While Brown Conference offering their perspectives on what it takes to make viable creative media businesses.
The panel was moderated by Natalie Madeira Cofield – President, Capital City African American Chamber. Hajj and Hassan joined the panel via Skype. The following are some highlights from the event. Click the links below to listen!
Building Your Media Biz -_Hajj Flemings
Building Your Media Biz – Gina McCauley
Building Your Media Biz – ThaTrunk
Building Your Media Biz – Black to the Future
Milestone: Building My Board
Middle School students working with mentor Justin Jefferson to extract DNA from strawberries.
Over the past 4 years, I have been fortunate to have the support of the Texas Diversity Council and more recently the Austin Community Foundation to function as non-profit umbrellas for my social ventures. These organizations have allowed me the flexibility to experiment and hone my approach to social entrepreneurship without the burden of having to maintain my own board and all of the administrative tasks that go with it. So, I am eternally grateful to them and we will continue to look for opportunities to coordinate efforts whenever it is appropriate.
In Austin alone, we serve over 1400 teachers and students through the social learning portal Media Xperiments by providing virtual workspaces, portfolio building, field trips, tours, intern and summer employment opportunities. This platform coupled with teacher training, technical support and now specialized mentors in STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering & Math), Media / Arts and Business provided through a partnership with the University of Texas Intellectual Entrepreneurship (IE) Consortium, make up an eco-system that is poised for exponential growth.
Download the E4 Youth Board Membership Packet
In order to make this ecosystem flourish, it has to be fed and curated. To that end, I am establishing my own board of directors and 501 C-3 non-profit status under the name E4 Youth. E4 Youth, which takes students through the sequence of Engagement, Education, Employment & Entrepreneurship, provides a nexus for business leaders and educators to connect with youth and create double bottom line ventures. By double bottom line, I mean value for both students and local businesses.
The E4 Youth Board will set the agenda and drive the priorities of the organization. There is a limit of 15 members for this inaugural year and a financial requirement as well. Our first official board member is Max Rutherford of GSD&M Idea City and we are looking for folks to fulfill roles in fundraising/finance, research/measurement, events, education and business development. So, if you or someone you know are qualified for such a role, check out the E4 Youth Board Membership Packet or contact me at carl@e4youth.com.
Case Study: Hoover’s Cooking – A Double Bottom Line Partner
One of the more notable examples of our Double Bottom Line Partnerships is our on-going relationship with Hoover’s Cooking. Over two years ago, we started working with local philanthropist Hoover Alexander through a media boot camp in which our students worked directly with advertising professionals from firms such as GSD&M and Sanders Wingo to develop a media strategy for his restaurant chain Hoover’s Cooking. In addition to a handsome, functional and easy to maintain web site, we have continued to partner by providing among other things, high school students working directly with professionals in mechanical engineering and biology to develop an irrigation system for the Greater Mount Zion Community Garden (See the video above).
Students build portfolios and become pre-qualified for internships and paid summer employment opportunities. Business leaders are able to invest in these students’ learning, strengthen community relationships and leverage this pre-qualified talent pool to accomplish their goals.