Even as a teenager, I was already passionately teaching. I received academic credit instructing other high school students in AVID, privately tutoring English language learners, and preparing to be on a faculty someday. I was determined to be the teacher I wish I had and help younger people not to experience the failures of typical school systems like I did. It was in my college education that I encountered how the arts can create space for self-actualization. I became a teaching artist for numerous organizations and continued to facilitate workshops on wellness and creative expression well beyond my graduation. I also became an EMT to supplement my primary career.My combined experience as a substitute teacher and workshop instructor brought me into diverse settings. I have taught kindergarten through 12th grade of mixed socioeconomic demographics, college seminars, adolescent parents, incarcerated and rehabilitating men. In between teaching, I also freelanced as a consultant for education and outreach programs around the country for premier institutions as well as grassroots organizations. My focus has consistently been on working with young men in particular. Eventually, I became a full time teacher at a public magnet arts school where I witnessed how the pandemic disproportionately impacted the wellbeing of students of color.I transitioned from teaching in the system and began seeking to work to improve it. I did program management for the city government, where I developed and executed community arts and educational activities for justice involved youth. Afterwards, I continued this work at a nonprofit community development agency to oversee creative engagement programs for/by low-income neighborhood families. Since then, I have been seeking a career home to carry out this professional growth and make a greater impact at the same time. The framework and theories of making our world (and the people in it) better extend outside of my professional work as a personal passion. Working in any project or organization that aligns with these causes will itself be personal for me.