more than a barber!
ENTREPRENEUR / EDucator / mentor / business advisor
community activist/ motivational speaker
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i was blessed to grow up in a good home, nice neighborhood with two working parents that loved me. i grew up on the lower east side of Rochester. i loved sports throughout my childhood. playing a variety of them including football, baseball, track, wrestling and basketball made me competitive and tough. in school i was a strong b student and gained a lot of friendships over those years. so, at first glance i was a good kid. but, the one thing that always got me in trouble was my temper and when you got me mad my mouth would do the rest. so me and fighting were good friends. if it wasn't fighting the white kids between 3rd to 8th grades because of people being racially ignorant. it was my own kind, black boys that looked like me that i had to fight against because they thought i spoke funny like i was "white". choosing to be a fighter got me in to trouble more ways than one. growing up in to young adulthood hanging with the wrong crowd. I started drinking, selling and using drugs, plus almost getting killed more than once. the reason for my tailspin that should have put me in jail or in a grave was because of the bad choices i made chasing attention, respect, and companionship. my dad always told me to stay committed to my school work. he even wanted me to become a police officer not knowing how deep i was in on the other side of the tracks or may be he did. after to many years failing out of college barely making it out of business school. i got tired of how i was living. deep down inside i knew this wasn't the real me. i realized i could never fully commit to being a criminal. with, my background and the fact that i cared too much for the younger kids learning my bad habits. caring too much for the families that were suffering affected by my actions and the actions of others doing the same thing. this was a big red flag that i couldn't look pass. as this eroded at my soul i realized that i didn't want to be a hypocrite anymore and add to a problem that had been going on for generations. my goal was clear. i had to change my life and the way i was living to be taken serious about helping the communities i once helped destroy. in 1996 i finished at the top of my class. i obtained my associate degree in business management/entrepreneurship from bryant and stratton college. after graduating from business school i have been involved with many different mentorship programs for youth of all ages. here in rochester ny, new haven ct, and albany ny, i have led workshops and programs that have developed youth social skills, life skills, taught poetry, making good choices, leadership, and mentoring support for those that need strong role models in their lives. I joined efforts with my wife dr. Sherita S, Traywick in 2006 to start young and gifted inc. to advocate and bring resources and education to the inner city's communities. in 2009 i became a licensed apprentice barber of new york state and gained my barber operator license of new york state in 2011. in 2014, i obtained my provisional instructors license of new york state to teach barbering while working for a local barber college in the rochester area. i have enjoyed teaching and talking to men and women, young and old on how to be successful people in their respective career choices. i am happy to have had the opportunity to talk to many young adults in the rochester city school district. some of those schools are East high school, school #50, edison technical and occupational high school, vertus, Uprep and the big picture learning alternative high school. i have used my education and my trade as a vehicle to propel my influence to help youth realize their true potential. Our youth don't have to settle for the conditions their in. it is our job as a community to show them how to aspire to do better. i love speaking about overcoming obstacles, igniting mind sets, and reaching set goals. here is a list of other topics i can speak about to encourage your group: 1. choices 2. hygiene and grooming 3. trade/alternative higher learning 4. leadership/empowerment 5. goal setting 6. dress for success 7. becoming a barber 8. anti-racism rEQUEST FOR ME TO SPEAK AT YOUR EVENT OR WITH YOUR GROUP OR TEACH A CLASS AT YOUR SCHOOL, BARBERSHOP, OR SALON TODAY. CONTACT BELOW! |
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the r. I. C. h. barber program
resilience Integrity creativity hard work
resilience Integrity creativity hard work
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