We asked some of the brightest folks from within the community to reflect back on their days in school and to share with us a story of when they learned a particularly important or impactful lesson. We’ve shared highlights below.

Kevin Twitty

The most valuable lesson I learned was in my interior design studio class my freshman year of college. We had been working on a project for weeks our teacher assigned to us. She said to design a room for her, sky was the limit. We all picked various styles and began our work. One day during class she came around to everyone’s desk and completely tore apart all of our projects saying we needed to start over. We were all in shock because we had been doing the work we thought were were suppose to do. When we asked our professor why, she replied, “none of you asked why I wanted.” Read more>>

Lashae Simmons Ii

The most important lesson I learned in school came from a deep internal struggle I faced growing up. I didn’t feel like I truly fit in anywhere. At home, in my predominantly Black neighborhood, I was often told I “acted white” because I didn’t always speak or behave the way people expected. The comments made me feel like I had to prove myself, like I didn’t belong with my own people. And to try and prove myself, I acted out—sometimes through bad behavior, like getting into fights. I was lost, trying to fit into something that wasn’t really me. Read more>>

Siddharth Shankar

I was initially introduced to Education Theory in my Junior Year English Class. Intrigued by much of the works of Paolo Freire and Bell Hooks, I began to formulate my ideas about immersive learning within the modern-day classroom and its economic and ethical implications. It’s held a significant influence in many of the ventures I’ve created, particularly in EdTech, that can help create a more equitable space for education. Read more>>

Shaun Slater

I attended The Notter School of Pastry of Pastry Arts (Orlando, FL) and studied under Pastry legend, Ewald Notter. One thing he would always preach to us was how important it is to be patient and practice….and having the willingness to share knowledge…not just in the kitchen but in life as well! Tempering chocolate…hand whipping cream…building up a sugar show piece….and so many other tasks in my job requires patience and practice! When training new staff…it requires extreme patience and the willingness to share your knowledge and experiences! Definitely was one of the most important lessons I’ve learned and utilize daily! Read more>>

Chloe Cooper

My aunt is the one who instilled in me that school doesn’t stop after you graduate. There is always a workshop, class, person or youtube video that you can learn from. It’s impossible to know everything, and learning in real world experiences from mentors is the most valuable in ensuring your business is growing at its fullest potential. It’s been easy for me in the past to only want to stick to my ideas and not fully hear new suggestions from my team or quickly shut down talks that prompted trying something risky or out of our norm. Having evolved out of that behavior, I’m seeing how collaborating ideas can really be the catalyst for expanding your business and boasting morale. I think that saying really stuck with me in my first year of college. Along with my classes for my major, I was lucky enough to have met a lot of people that have served as mentors for me, showing me a new way of tackling challenges. Read more>>

Juan Montes

I like to think of myself as your “average student,” just with a little more common sense than most. I was never an overachiever—I did just the bare minimum to pass my classes, except for math. Math? That was easy for me. I always loved numbers, and remembering formulas was second nature. Read more>>