Academy For Career Exploration

I always wanted to be a superhero endowed with a special gift of powers that could make a difference in the world. But my dreams of flying around the world fighting bad guys, protecting the innocent, and making the world a better place, crashed to the ground when I realized that I couldn't make a difference in my own life.

I was born into a middle-class family with loving parents who were willing to sacrifice for their children. We had a nice home, food on the table, and gifts under our Christmas tree. On the surface, everything seemed perfect. But my white middle-class family was loaded with problems around drugs and alcohol, fueled by anger and violence. There was nothing this wannabe superhero could do to avoid what he had to live with every day.

My message of persisting to overcome hardship, never stop believing in yourself, adopting a positive attitude, and making a commitment to your personal goals, has been my go-to message to encourage youth to try and make a difference in their lives. That was exactly the message I intended to deliver when I signed up as a guest speaker at the Academy for Career Exploration approximately one year ago. Little did I know that it was just the beginning of my giving story and the start of my real superhero adventure!

Instead of spending an hour or so doing my usual presentation to the students, I ended up staying at ACE the entire day. As I spoke with the students, I could see individuals who, like me, who wanted more because they were made of more. I was totally captivated by their desire to know more, to explore more, and to grow more.

My giving story is about the moment when I decided to respond to one student, Victor's, request for me to 'come back soon. ' It is the story of how I heard one simple request from a single student and I at that moment understood the appeal of every under-served student who faces challenges every day of their lives, at home, in their neighborhoods, and at school, and their need for me to stay involved.

My story is about my commitment to continue to help this school by offering students a stronger belief in themselves and the strength to overcome the obstacles in their way. It's about opening the doors to a world of opportunity in computer science education and the potential of high skilled, high wage careers in technology for students who might otherwise have been on the traditional pathway to low wage, low opportunity jobs.

Victor and the other students at ACE have taught me that being a superhero is more than donning tights while fighting crime. Being is a hero is about giving part of yourself to something bigger than oneself. And the Academy for Career Exploration is big, real big. And our work is not done. It is just beginning. With the goal of innovating primary education, it is my hope that the Academy for Career Exploration will become the best performing school in the state of Rhode Island. There is no doubt that the current educational model is desperately in need of transformation, and our under-served students and their communities need heroes - heroes who wear business suits. No cape required.