We were lucky to catch up with Naphtali Bryant recently and have shared our conversation below.

Naphtali, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents were both business-minded when it came to function in the workplace. My mother would be considered an intrapreneur who thinks like an entrepreneur but maintains a 9 to 5 job. My mom would negotiate her salary based on her performance so much that she would mention retirement for years to get a raise. She understood that being one of the best in her field gave her the leverage to price herself appropriately for her value. My father was both a business owner and a pastor of a local church. He taught me how to quiet the noise of others who lack the eyes to see your vision and are not as patient enough to see that vision realized. He purchased 10 acres for a little over 200k 25 years prior when nothing had developed in an area of San Antonio. Fast forward, when he decided to move forward with building the church, he was able to sell 2 acres of that property with a profit of over a million dollars. That type of discipline and unyielding to blind critics is one of the most valuable lessons my father taught me.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I started as a student trying to win the game of college and student loan debt. I started with a simple goal: to get paid to go to college; get paid because I went to college. My goal was never to allow a credential to be the marker for my success. I had met too many people who were educated but dysfunctional. Frankly, most of them were dumb as a box of rocks. They were unprofessional and arrogant because they believed a degree made them somehow a better person. I understood then that while a degree is paramount to entry in some fields, it is not an end all be all for career trajectory. With this information, I began my educational journey by choosing to go back to school. I chose the Alamo Colleges in San Antonio because of the affordability of the courses and because I would have an overage in financial aid. The overage meant that the federal government would pay for my tuition and fees, and I had to use the remainder of the pell grant to pay for books. I knew from research I would essentially be paid to go to college because I received more aid than I needed for fees and books.

As I attended college I began to earn scholarships which meant I earned more money to attend college. Slowly student organizations on various campuses began to ask me to present strategies to students on how I earned money for school. At the time I had presentations but had not developed a system to translate what I knew into service for students. I was researching one day and stumbled upon a scholarship opportunity to attend a branding seminar for those who wanted to learn the art of branding. It was this course that started the birthing process of Spark-Ed University. My instructor Zahra Cruzan helped me flush out what I was doing to help students and then make a system to serve as many students as possible. We determined my target audience and developed an online course that would make it easier for me to serve students while pursuing other opportunities. Before launching in May of 2022, I began working in the registrar’s office of St. Philip’s College which I graduated in 2015. I started in October of 2019 and planned on launching my course in early 2020 but the pandemic hit. I delayed the launch for obvious reasons but I concentrated on learning how to present virtually which opened up more customers globally. During the pandemic, I was invited to speak to students from other countries such as Colombia, and have been on numerous podcasts. After a lot of editing and delaying, I launched the Student Success course on March 1st.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I had to unlearn the inner conversation about Math as a subject in education. In 1997 as a senior in high school, I failed Algebra 2 final exam which prevented me from walking the stage. I didn’t know it then but I developed a fear of Algebra not only because failing it prevented me from graduating but because I knew It was unnecessary once I left high school. I attended summer school and earned my diploma but it would take years to get over that fear. I faced it again while in college. I enrolled in a Liberal Arts as the last class needed to finish out my degree in Business Management. I would spend hours and hours sometimes trying complete only five questions for homework just to make sure I understood the concepts and formulas. Anxiety hit when I found out we would have to come on campus and take the final exam. I boldly enrolled in an online class thinking that the environment of my home would help ease the fear I had of Algebra. The day of the final came and as I walked into class with my page of notes we were allowed to bring we find out that the grading system was down and it would take several days for us to hear what our final exam grade was and our final class score. After a week of playing all types of scenarios in my head of what would happen if I failed, I was informed that I passed the final and the course with a B. I still don’t like Algebra and it is extremely hard for people to convince me of its use but I did do one thing and that was beat me fear of it.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I have been a teenage parent since my oldest son was born in 1996. I say that because I was a junior in high school when he was born. Being an African American male and teenage father is almost a death sentence in the United States. There are numerous stats that say I would die early, never finish school, and certainly never earn a livable wage. I have fought against those statistics since 1996 and today I am a business owner, grandfather, and husband. I have traveled to five countries, earned national awards, and in 2020 was named one of the Top 100 Leaders in Education by the Global for Education and Learning. I believe the fact that I kept getting up every day and my faith in God allowed me the strength to never give up is why I am still alive and successful today. The best part of being resilient is the best is yet to come!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.spark-eduniversity.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naphtalit.bryant
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SparkEDUniversity
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naphtalitekoabryant/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/naphtalitbryant
• Other: Solcademy https://www.solcademy.com/profile/teacher/357