We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Shane and Nigel Mushambi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Shane and Nigel, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

OUR WHY Algebra and geometry are math subjects that my brother, Nigel, and I consider easy. We
know that our accelerated math proficiency is not because we are somehow above-average in our
ability to learn but because of hard work and the numerous opportunities we receive. As gifted
black youths, my brother and I realize that two different worlds exist regarding education and
learning for us and other black youth. The first world includes students like Nigel and me who
participate in enrichment activities at school and after-school programs such as math camp or
youth leadership conferences. The other world is where students attend schools in underserved
and underprivileged neighborhoods; black and brown students of color who, because their
families can’t afford it, have limited access to the resources they need to improve their
quantitative reasoning abilities.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Our Project Gemstones, slated to launch in May 2022, we aim to close the gap between these two worlds by providing resources and tools designed to tackle some of the disparities.
Nigel and I have witnessed firsthand the effects of living while black and poor. We know people
who have given up on themselves and their abilities. For students raised in deprivation, the world
is not a kind, caring place. Growing up destitute adversely affects a student’s mindset. Children
who might have otherwise grown-up confident and secure instead believe society doesn’t care,
so they stop caring also. According to Compassion International, one of the dynamics of growing
up poor includes a concept known as “educational poverty,” which occurs when students have
little access to the resources necessary to help them achieve.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

We started working on The Gemstone Project over a year ago. Our original launch date was March 2021 and now slated for May 2022. Along the way we hit many roadblocks. We were told our idea was too big and we needed to scale back. As young leaders, we know that you don’t shrink your dreams. You grow into them. Working on the project has been exhausting and frustrating at times, but we knew we had to keep at it. Now a year later we have a well refined project that is going to change how many youths view math and critical thinking.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

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Contact Info:

• Website: www.2BrosITK.com
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