Tag Archives: mentoring
Dreams Do Come True
Well, 4 years ago, I set off to live with my parents and begin my trek back into education. I’ve always known that my destiny lay somewhere in that realm but I was never quite sure how. I taught in the classroom for over 6 years and worked on countless educational publishing and software projects. The thing about education and affecting true change is that it is very difficult to do. I mean, you can get starts and fits but there is very little oxygen out there to sustain true innovation.
I’ve always felt like I was meant to have a larger impact beyond one classroom or school. I want to create infrastructure that drives and sustains a culture of achievement among our youth. In 4 years, we have come quite a distance. Sitting in a room surrounded by 9 It Could Be U Camp staff along with Dr, Thomas Darwin (UT Intellectual Entrepreneurship Initiative) and Jannelle Monney (Former SVP, Freescale Semi-Conductor) it was a bit surreal. My dream is coming true. We are making the change that I imagined years ago…
I am so pleased that I am joined by such an impressive roster of people from all walks of life. My challenge now is to let my child grow up and take on a life of its own.
From Gang Banger to Mentor & Graphic Designer
David Frias speaks of his transformation from being an active gang member to working as an It Could Be U Mentor and graphic designer.
Mentoring & College Readiness
Over the last 2 years, I have driven across Texas offering diverse students free tours of media and communications companies is 4 cities – Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and Houston. I launched a web site called Media Xperiments, based on the social networking platform called Ning. Students could sign up at no charge for tours of highly regarded ad agencies such as GSD&M Idea City and Sanders Wingo, media production houses like AMS Pictures, video game companies, radio stations, recording studios, etc. My original intent was to have the students build on-line portfolios that were reviewed by professionals in their field and then find them paid internships with local media companies. Of course, it was 2008 and the bottom had truly fallen out of the economy making it very difficult to place my first class of students.
So, I had to make other plans. We would meet each week at different locations across the city. Offices, community centers anywhere we could. The Media Proteges, as I decided to name them, would meet entrepreneurs, work on advocacy projects for local organizations and continue to interact with a wide array of media professionals. They were gaining what I term as Cultural Capital – the sum of experiences needed put them on the bleeding edge of media, technology and entrepreneurship. There were several false starts and stumbles but after a while, we found our stride.
One of the proteges got to shoot and edit video for a local entertainment company (see video above) and then we got do some work for Texas Parks & Wildlife. Having completed year 1 with 4 proteges, I’m happy to say that now we have 12 with a broad range of skills and interests. I’m now confident that our approach of engaging students can be effective at accelerating literacy and critical thinking skills. Now, it’s time for them to serve others as they continue hone their skills and work out an educational plan for achieving their goals. As the pool grows larger, we are seeing a multiplier effect.