Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Carla McCullough. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Carla, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Thank you so much for this question. I think the most life changing risk that I have ever taken was moving to Los Angeles. I moved here at the age of 21, having never visited the city before and not having a built in network of friends and family.

Growing up I became fascinated with film and television. I can recall seeing Back to the Future and wanting to replay the story for my mother frame by frame, even before I fully knew what that meant. By the time I was old enough to decide what I wanted to be when I grew up, I immediately knew my answer. I wanted to make movies.

Fast forward to the end of my time as a student at Spelman College, I needed to decide next steps for my future. When I reminded my mother of my years-long plan to move to Hollywood to make movies, she gently and firmly reminded me that it would be wise to secure a job before moving to a place I had never been.

I took her advice and applied to Teach for America (TFA), which was an organization I had learned about in one of my political science classes. At that time, candidates were able to rank their choices for placement city along with grade level and subject to teach. My first choice was 6th grade English and History for a teaching assignment and Los Angeles for placement city.

I was so grateful to be accepted to the program and to receive my first choice in all areas. Moving to Los Angeles sight unseen was a risk. Joining Teach for America when my original career choice was not education was also a risk. However 20+ years later I can say that it was a risk well worth taking and ended up changing the trajectory of my life for the better.

As I was preparing to move and find a place to live, I received guidance from TFA about various locations by way of a map within a new corp member guide book. Because I wasn’t familiar with Southern California cities outside of Los Angeles and Hollywood, I selected the city for my first apartment based on name familiarity. The city of Downey stood out to me because of its location and Downy Fabric Softener so once I landed in town my mother and I found an apartment there on Imperial Highway.

This fateful decision put me directly on the same street of my future placement site Samuel Gompers Middle School. It was there that I fell in love with teaching. At Gompers I also became a part of a tight knit educational network, many of whom are still my closest friends today. It was also at Gompers and through Teach for America that my viewpoint of the impact I could have on society was expanded beyond making movies. I am grateful for this experience and for having the foresight all those years ago to take a leap of faith. That leap put me directly on the path to fulfilling my lifelong dream and having a positive impact on the world while I do it.

Carla, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m an LA transplant hailing from Chicago with a layover in Atlanta, Georgia. I began my career in Los Angeles as an educator and recently began working in film. I’d describe myself as an educational leader and a filmmaker.

In addition to creating College Reunion I also am a coach and mentor to aspiring school leaders. My coaching specialties include change management, organizational leadership, and operations and efficiency support. This work includes supporting leaders in uncovering and cementing a vision for their schools and using this vision to guide day to day work and long term planning. I also support such leadership tasks as building an effective team, project management, and work/life balance.

I uncovered my passion for this work during my time as a school administrator. I was always curious about systems and ways to make them as efficient and effective as possible in order to focus on the most important aspects of being a school leader which are student and staff support. I firmly believe that the most important factor in running a great school or organization is vision.

I believe that this notion of creating and maintaining a shared vision is applicable across every field. Maintaining your vision along with several key educational structures and best practices work well within the film industry. As a part of the full scope of College Reunion I am excited to highlight these intersections for our audience and leaders across the country.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I love this question as books, in particular, are my favorite go-to resource for leadership support. Several books that have impacted my management, and entrepreneurial thinking include Managing to Change the World from the Management Center, The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin, and the Science of Getting Rich by Wallace Wattles.

I believe there are great leadership lessons in film and television that can also be applied across industries. Some of my favorites include Ted Lasso, The Bear, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. The work of Brene Brown has also been extremely helpful along my journey.

Finally, Shawn Brown-Brumfield, an educational leader, author, and new friend has been an amazing resource. Her Ted Talk on the Achievement Gap coupled with her book The Purpose Driven School are a must watch and read for every educational leader everywhere. I think if schools around the country adopted the principles from The Purpose Driven School we would have a dramatic increase in school attendance, enrollment, and test scores. I also think application of the principles would dramatically increase staff retention.

I believe a continued focus on schools and in particular K-12 education, is important because education is the field that produces all other professions. Without a quality educational system students will continue to struggle to grow into their best selves and become fully contributing members of society.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission behind my creative journey is to literally change the world. I recognize that this is a bold statement, but I truly believe that education is the thing that changes the world.

My experiences in the classroom and as an educational leader make me uniquely position to take the filmmaking process and combine it with educational best practices to create the movie•ment that is College Reunion. By the end of this project we will have created an award winning film while simultaneously shining a light on the importance of education, specifically for the Black community. The completion of this goal will pave the way for more films made by women and provide opportunities for more stories of Black joy and triumph to grace the big and small screen.

I’m excited to use my creative passion and my educational knowledge to make a true difference in my community and beyond. I’m hopeful that my journey will inspire others to pursue a similar calling.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.acollegereunion.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acollegereunion/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aCollegeReunion
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/college-reunion-moviement
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaJtX3TueAoi955g24TvVUg
• Other: https://fundraise.teachforamerica.org/campaign/tfa-la-youre-the-common-denominator/c543874