Constructing the BridgeTO Success
Today, Friday December 13th, 2019 a bright and ambitious young man graduates from the Hammerhead construction program and takes his next steps forward with his hands on the reins to his successful future. Deonte Powell’s message? Don’t let where you’re from define who you are. This isn’t a blithe message he parries around, Deonte knows full well the implications of living in the wrong postal code and being black. He has faced, and still faces, the immediate assumptions and stereotyping that comes with pairing his looks with his home address. Today, Deonte is representative of the few who figure out, with the help of mentors and advisors, how to take back control of their lives and make a path for their futures through education.
Deonte at his graduation ceremony receiving his certificate
A son who helps out at home, an older brother who cares for his younger sister, and an idle student turned go-getter, Deonte has made a 180 degree turn from who he was this time last year. Deonte chronicles in dulcet tones how at 18 years he graduated high school earlier this year in June, works a part-time job in the service industry and is about to graduate the full-time construction program, Hammerheads. He acknowledges that he is one of the few from his year to graduate and confesses that throughout highschool he, like many of his peers, didn’t care about his marks, his plan was, “Just do it and get out.” He regrets this perspective as it, “Led to fewer options coming out of highschool.” In his last year of highschool, showing interest in the trades, he signed up for OYAP, a trades program which he failed due to both not being ready at the time and being noncommittal.
Soon after, with the encouragement of one of his teachers and a mentor he applied to the Hammerheads program, a program that leads to eventual placement in a Union and later an apprenticeship, both of which are on Deonte’s 5 year goal plan. Deonte laughs as he emphasizes, “The Hammerheads is advertised as a bootcamp type of program- I forgot that until the first day of school when they said that again.” he further went on to explain, “I thought I was a hard-worker but now, after this experience, I realize I wasn’t.” Joining the Hammerheads on the heels of failure and with a tough, dish-it-as-it-is program leader turned out to be exactly what Deonte needed.
He admits that he was a careless student in highschool. Part of that is the usual teenage experience, where everything feels magnified and macro in scope; life’s dramas and whims take a larger place of importance than the actual educational journey. However, a huge part of it is the utter lack of significance placed on his potential and the minimal focus on even the possibility of a future. As we discuss his neighborhood and upbringing, we delve into how he feels his community is under-resourced. There comes to light the realization that when you do not give young people expectations or a compass that can direct them for life after school, then most will not have any goal to work for, towards, or even the realization of their own capacity for success.
Luckily, Deonte had a few people who guided him, pushed him to try again and to go for what he wants. On the other side of highschool and getting through a demanding career-driven program, Deonte has a lot of lessons to share. His main pieces of advice? “Putting in the effort, putting in the time. The effort you put in is what you get out.” and, “Be careful of distractions. People are distractions, you have to focus on school.”