Scholar Voices: How my passion for business and social impact led me to Converse
I am currently a senior at Dartmouth College, majoring in Sociology and minoring in Markets, Economics and Management. I hope to merge both my passions for business and social impact over the course of my career. I have been part of many different organizations that give back to the community, including TGR Foundation’s Earl Woods Scholar Program.
In 2016, I co-founded Empowering Generations of Leaders (E.G.O.L), a collective that works on developing young leaders in the community and encourages them to lend their voice in the worlds of art, politics and civic engagement to change their neighborhoods for the better. More recently, I also co-founded my clothing company R.House. With my company, I have been able to provide a platform and a distribution channel for young creatives of color.
Earl Woods Scholar Program launches exclusive digital platform
The Earl Woods Scholar Program recently launched a digital platform to engage scholars and expand opportunities among its members. Open to current scholars, alumni and select TGR Foundation staff, the platform will provide a central online hub for students to connect, engage in meaningful dialogue on topics of interest and explore opportunities to gain experience and enhance their skillset.
Mentor Spotlight: How mentorship led to global impact
What can one person do to change the world? That is a tough question. Many people ask themselves this question. I would venture to guess that most answer it with pessimism. How could the actions of one person actually change the world? Unless you are Bill Gates or Elon Musk or someone with unlimited means and influence, you probably feel that your efforts would be a drop in the ocean.
I started to think about what I could do. I thought if I can help one person, that person can possibly help other people and those people will carry the wave further out in concentric circles.
With this in mind, I volunteered with TGR Foundation to be a mentor.
Earl Woods Scholar Mentor Shares Four Tips to Support Students during COVID-19
It was March 11th when my family and I were sitting in the Orlando airport waiting to catch a flight back home from Disney World where we had just spent the past five days for spring break. When we left home on March 5 there were 159 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. I watched […]
Scholar Voices: My road to graduation amidst COVID-19
As I packed the rest of my belongings for spring break, I crafted a vision in my head of my final semester at Skidmore College: sun-bathing on the Case Green, fun nights spent downtown with friends, presenting my senior thesis at Academic Festival, weekend trips into town for brunch, late-night crams at Scribner Library and so many more treasured “lasts,” as I got ready to move on with the rest of my life.
I didn’t know it at the time, but my final moments on campus would be taken away and I would move out two months earlier than expected. During spring break, Skidmore College followed several other universities across the United States and the world in announcing it would be moving to remote instruction for the rest of the semester in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Scholar Voices: How mentorship shaped my career trajectory
I was next in line to speak at the Earl Woods Scholar Winter Workshop graduation luncheon, celebrating my cohort, the class of 2020. Nervous yet excited, I repeatedly ran through my lines in my head in anticipation. Yet, when the time came to deliver my speech, thanking the people who had shaped my journey with TGR Foundation, as I began to thank my mentor, I was surprised to hear my words deviate from the script. “Bill, we are a match made in heaven.” This impromptu phrase easily became my favorite.
My first contact with my mentor William (Bill) Borges hadn’t been as an Earl Woods Scholar. Bill was there from the very beginning, participating in my group interview for the scholar program back in high school. It was humbling to reflect on how much time had passed since then, and I felt satisfied that I could verbalize it with such an appropriate phrase, as though it were the natural culmination of our time together.
Scholar Voices: How my mentor shaped my journey to college graduation
When I count my blessings, I count Brian Fredrick, my Earl Woods Scholar mentor, twice. I don’t quite know the process that the TGR Foundation used to match me and Brian up, but ever since we were introduced to each other the summer before my freshman year at Lehigh University, we have connected. Brian was not only interested in knowing me and my aspirations as a first-generation college-bound student, he was also eager to meet my family and see how they fit into the picture. I appreciated his eagerness to involve my parents in this process and learn a thing or two about my Ethiopian culture.
10th Annual Winter Workshop unites scholars for college and career success
TGR Foundation kicks off each year with Winter Workshop, a signature event of the Earl Woods Scholar Program that unites students, mentors and friends of the foundation at the flagship TGR Learning Lab in Anaheim, CA. A reflection of the program’s growth over the last ten years, this year’s event saw record attendance Thursday, January 2 – Saturday, January 4.
Through a host of scheduled personal and professional development workshops, the program prepared underclassmen college students for success during their year ahead and celebrated with seniors that will graduate in the class of 2020 during a luncheon on Friday afternoon.
Mentor Spotlight: General Trent Edwards shares how mentors learn while leading
From Traip Academy High School in Kittery, Maine to the United States Pentagon in Arlington, VA, General Trent Edwards has had many life experiences. In his latest appointment as an Earl Woods Scholar Mentor he was matched with Julian Smith, a freshman at Clark Atlanta University, and has already begun sharing special moments, learning from his mentee’s perspective and helping him develop healthy habits on his road to college and career success.
General Edwards recently took a moment to reflect on his experience thus far, share the value of mentoring and provide tips for building strong relationships as we celebrate National Mentoring Month.
Scholar Voices: How rejection fueled my path to success
Growing up, I always tried to keep a serious face. Not because I wasn’t a happy person but because I never liked my smile. No matter how many times I practiced smiling in front of a mirror, when it was time for a picture, I would try my best to avoid it. My insecurities made me extremely timid. However, whenever I was able to do anything science or math-related, I came out of my shell. I did not care where I was or what I looked like. I just wanted to learn because it was fun for me.
Fast forward to my first year of college, I was very excited; I had the chance to study computer science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). I had nearly perfect grades, and I genuinely loved what I was studying. I felt like I did when I was learning as a child.
