Meet Brendan
Tell us how you found out about TRUE Skool from the beginning and when was that?
I found out about TRUESkool for the first time when I was around 15 through a boys group my aunt forced me into at the time. I wasn't particularly interested in that boys group or any other extracurricular activities at the moment so I never signed up, however, I did find it highly interesting. I rediscovered TRUE Skool again when I was around 17 through my musically inclined peers and decided to attend the fall session.
2. How would you describe the TRUE Skool Experience to a teenager that never heard of it before?
TRUE Skool is a safe space to learn, grow, and try new things but it's up to the individual to get the most out of it. If you push yourself to do your best you'll come out stronger with a new set of skills and useful resources to put those skills to work but, ultimately it's up to you how impactful your experience will be.
3. What are three valuable leadership lessons that you have learned from your TRUE Skool Internship experience?
Like I mentioned previously one really valuable lesson is taking things into your own hands, If you attach yourself to this work you'll get better results objectively and personally. Second lesson I learned is to always ask questions if you're confused even if you risk looking bad in the moment, It's always better to understand as much as you can about whatever you're apart of. Third and probably the most important lesson for my own personal growth is not allowing anxiety or fear to stop you from preforming at the highest possible level. I used to avoid anything that was too anxiety inducing, now im learning to work through these feelings while still handing what needs to be handled.
4. Where do you see TRUE Skool in the future, 6 years from now , 2030?
I dont know exactly where I see TRUE Skool in 2030 but my only hope is that It can continue to do what it did for me to another kid in the city, maybe just at a larger scale.
5. You have any shout outs you want to give or info you want to share?
Shout out to ALL the artists the city trying to making something out of themselves. To me the paid expression of self through the arts is the closest thing to freedom we can get today, especially so for minorities. Anyone who is committed to pursuing this goal of freedom through the arts is deserving of attention in my opinion. Also shout out to TRUE Skool for giving me a space to grow on my own personal journey. Peace.
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