I believe you make time for what’s important. For me, leaving the community better than I found it isn’t optional, it’s personal. When children are our future, we have a responsibility to equip them for the technical and digital world they’re inheriting, not the one we grew up in.
I founded Class Matters Inc. because I grew up understanding how poverty shrinks your choices. In under-resourced communities, success often looks like what you see every day like athletes on TV, artists or musicians chasing rare odds, teachers stretched thin, or the street economy that feels close and convenient, like the gas station or corner store. No one talks about other possibilities because no one ever showed them.
I saw brilliant students across Oklahoma facing the same limits, not because they lacked talent or effort, but because they lacked access. Too often, students are expected to succeed without being given the tools, exposure, or support to do so. I couldn’t accept that a child’s zip code, their parents’ income, or educational background should decide their future.
That realization pushed me to act. I partnered with the Guaranteed 4.0 Learning System to teach students how to learn, replacing confusion with confidence. I partnered with Youth Medical Mentorship because exposure changes everything. When young people see professionals who look like them and share similar backgrounds, “impossible” becomes “I’m possible.”
I’m inspired by students labeled “behind” when they were simply under-supported, and by families doing everything they can with limited resources. This work is personal, I’ve lived the gaps I’m now working to close.
Class Matters Inc. redefines leadership for me. Leadership means showing up, even when it’s hard, and making sure young people have examples. To me, being American means believing in opportunity, community, responsibility, and perseverance, and stepping up when systems fall short so the next generation sees more than survival, but possibility.
I founded Class Matters Inc. because I grew up understanding how poverty shrinks your choices. In under-resourced communities, success often looks like what you see every day like athletes on TV, artists or musicians chasing rare odds, teachers stretched thin, or the street economy that feels close and convenient, like the gas station or corner store. No one talks about other possibilities because no one ever showed them.
I saw brilliant students across Oklahoma facing the same limits, not because they lacked talent or effort, but because they lacked access. Too often, students are expected to succeed without being given the tools, exposure, or support to do so. I couldn’t accept that a child’s zip code, their parents’ income, or educational background should decide their future.
That realization pushed me to act. I partnered with the Guaranteed 4.0 Learning System to teach students how to learn, replacing confusion with confidence. I partnered with Youth Medical Mentorship because exposure changes everything. When young people see professionals who look like them and share similar backgrounds, “impossible” becomes “I’m possible.”
I’m inspired by students labeled “behind” when they were simply under-supported, and by families doing everything they can with limited resources. This work is personal, I’ve lived the gaps I’m now working to close.
Class Matters Inc. redefines leadership for me. Leadership means showing up, even when it’s hard, and making sure young people have examples. To me, being American means believing in opportunity, community, responsibility, and perseverance, and stepping up when systems fall short so the next generation sees more than survival, but possibility.
