WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.440 I am fiercely loyal, 2 00:00:03.440 --> 00:00:07.210 focused, and passionate about ensuring that all students, 3 00:00:07.210 --> 00:00:09.640 regardless of zip code or race, 4 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:11.990 have the opportunity to attend college 5 00:00:11.990 --> 00:00:14.280 or pursue a career of their choice. 6 00:00:14.280 --> 00:00:18.650 So I'm donating my $10,000 prize to my former employer 7 00:00:18.650 --> 00:00:22.050 and nonprofit, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, 8 00:00:22.050 --> 00:00:25.780 which is LA's largest charter management organization, 9 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:29.040 serving 13,000 students in the LA area. 10 00:00:29.040 --> 00:00:33.080 Of those students, 97% of them are Black or Hispanic. 11 00:00:33.080 --> 00:00:35.670 93% come from low income families. 12 00:00:35.670 --> 00:00:39.253 And 90% will be first-generation college goers. 13 00:00:40.226 --> 00:00:44.070 Alliance College-Ready exists to achieve educational equity 14 00:00:44.070 --> 00:00:47.000 by pushing boundaries of what is possible, 15 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:50.130 and has an unwavering belief that each and every student 16 00:00:50.130 --> 00:00:53.080 should have the opportunity to go to a college 17 00:00:53.080 --> 00:00:55.890 that matches their career ambitions. 18 00:00:55.890 --> 00:00:57.710 I am really proud of the work that I did 19 00:00:57.710 --> 00:01:00.620 at Alliance College-Ready in developing strategies 20 00:01:00.620 --> 00:01:03.280 and systems and progress monitoring tools 21 00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:05.720 to support college completion aspirations 22 00:01:05.720 --> 00:01:07.030 of all of our students. 23 00:01:07.030 --> 00:01:09.140 And not just getting them into college, 24 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:12.110 but ensuring that they actually persist in college as well. 25 00:01:12.110 --> 00:01:16.280 My time at BCG was invaluable to where I am today. 26 00:01:16.280 --> 00:01:18.760 And mostly because I had expressed an interest 27 00:01:18.760 --> 00:01:21.510 in doing social impact work at BCG, 28 00:01:21.510 --> 00:01:24.160 and they were able to make that happen. 29 00:01:24.160 --> 00:01:25.710 So of my time there, 30 00:01:25.710 --> 00:01:29.510 I was able to spend time both locally and abroad 31 00:01:29.510 --> 00:01:33.890 working on complex social issues with a wide variety 32 00:01:33.890 --> 00:01:37.500 of people and bringing together many, many organizations 33 00:01:37.500 --> 00:01:40.210 to try to address those, particularly in education. 34 00:01:40.210 --> 00:01:41.400 So without that, 35 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:43.150 I would never have had the credibility 36 00:01:43.150 --> 00:01:45.650 that I do have in my work today. 37 00:01:45.650 --> 00:01:49.330 Those, particularly BCG current staff and alumni, 38 00:01:49.330 --> 00:01:51.760 I believe we just have an incredible power 39 00:01:51.760 --> 00:01:55.140 to change the conversation and to put in place systems 40 00:01:55.140 --> 00:01:58.420 and structures that will change how people think about DEI 41 00:01:58.420 --> 00:02:00.890 and how it impacts different communities. 42 00:02:00.890 --> 00:02:02.590 I think on a micro level, 43 00:02:02.590 --> 00:02:04.810 each of us can take a look internally 44 00:02:04.810 --> 00:02:07.270 of what's in our locus of control, 45 00:02:07.270 --> 00:02:09.720 take a fresh look at historical systems 46 00:02:09.720 --> 00:02:11.328 and the history that we learned, 47 00:02:11.328 --> 00:02:12.903 and think about how has that 48 00:02:12.903 --> 00:02:14.670 really impacted different communities 49 00:02:14.670 --> 00:02:16.600 that we might be working with today. 50 00:02:16.600 --> 00:02:20.040 And how do we help kind of overcome some of those barriers 51 00:02:20.040 --> 00:02:24.050 that were put up in the past, even if they no longer exist. 52 00:02:24.050 --> 00:02:25.390 I think all of us can take a look 53 00:02:25.390 --> 00:02:28.290 of where we invest our money, either personally 54 00:02:28.290 --> 00:02:30.670 or on behalf of our organizations, 55 00:02:30.670 --> 00:02:33.700 and make sure that we're supporting those who may not always 56 00:02:33.700 --> 00:02:37.640 have access to monetary capital or social capital. 57 00:02:37.640 --> 00:02:40.140 The path to ensuring educational equity 58 00:02:40.140 --> 00:02:43.400 is long and complex and hard. 59 00:02:43.400 --> 00:02:47.480 It can not come alone and it requires focus and dedication 60 00:02:47.480 --> 00:02:50.810 from a broad range of individuals who want to stick with it 61 00:02:50.810 --> 00:02:53.780 for the long run, and have an unwavering passion 62 00:02:53.780 --> 00:02:54.763 to the mission.