About William Dawson

My name is William Dawson, III. I am a 17-year-old senior currently attending Otay Ranch High School. I was born in Portsmouth, VA and I have lived in Chula Vista since the age of 5.

My parents, little brother and other family members are my biggest supporters. Since as far as I could remember, my mother has always talked to me about being the best person that I could be. For example, she has always told me that education would be the key to my success, no matter what path I choose.

It didn’t matter if I learned it through traditional education or trade-school, life experiences or lessons, it was important that I learned something as my education was the one thing that could not be taken away from me. With the help of my parents (who were both in the U.S. Navy), I’ve learned strength, resiliency, acceptance and adaptation and how to apply those qualities in my everyday life.

Being a part of The Blue Heart Foundation, I’ve learned so many valuable lessons, pertaining to being a Black man, but I also learned brotherhood, leadership, compassion, and responsibility.

About Ezekiel Rabb

Growing up in Southeast San Diego, California is tough for young Black males. There are very limited pathways to success. Without programs, we face problems. The following is a personal story about a Black boy with his head in the clouds who overcame the pitfalls of death, a prescribed identity, and found himself. Unexpectedly, through recovery, community service, and even earning his pilot’s license, he developed resilience. He learned that youth die young in “America’s Finest City.”

He buried three loved ones during the same holiday. His cousin was shot. His teammate was shot. His friend was shot. Knowing the limited opportunities for success, Zeke thoughtfully chose to put his energy into football, which he played since the 6th grade.

Zeke knows that life is about perseverance and improvisation. Since elementary school, football was his passion and allowed him to demonstrate strength and agility, mentally and physically. Zeke’s injury impacted him in many ways. He experienced memory problems, sleep deprivation, constant headaches, and light sensitivity, all of which affected him for over a year. He spiraled into depression. The experience of a life-threatening injury required him to evaluate his priorities and strengths.

This opened up his time to explore other interests, activities, and hobbies, including Blue Heart.

Zeke’s recovery process was difficult but he learned valuable lessons about his identity. Most notably, he realized that he is not only a football player, but also an advanced-level scholar. He also learned he has an affinity for science and coding. During his healing process he reflected on life. While recovering, Zeke also learned he has a love for coding. Through an eight-month course at University of California, San Diego, he learned how to create applications for iPhones using Xcode and Swift. Zeke also learned the core fundamentals of coding, and that his easygoing, patient and collaborative personality is the perfect compliment to computer engineering careers.

Another part of Zeke’s core identity and principles as a Black male began to emerge as he began to engage in Blue Heart’s volunteer service. Zeke’s love for service to others was sparked after his mentor invited him to volunteer at Sharia’s Closet, a community closet that provides clothes to people who are unsheltered. Another Blue Heart volunteer experience, with the National Society of Black Engineers, resulted in an internship that not only taught him how to write pseudo code, but also access to a network of African American specialists in the STEAM careers. Zeke joined The Blue Heart Foundation full time, and since his first volunteer experience freshman year, Zeke has contributed over 500 hours of community service, which has helped him to find meaning and joy in life.

This is a common story but a personal one for me. My name is Ezekeial, and my close friends call me “Zeke.”

Zeke is like many young Black males in Southeast San Diego, California, and across the United States: powerful beyond imagination with limitless potential. Zeke’s cousin, Deashan, his friend, Michael, and his football teammate, Bobby, did not make it. This is a common story but a personal one for me. My name is Ezekeial, and my closest friends call me “Zeke.” My background is relevant and meaningful to my identity as a Black man in America seeking to thrive and make a meaningful contribution to society.

My vision for the future is safe cyberspace. Upon completing my undergraduate and advanced degrees, I will create my own malware business to protect companies and corporations. I look forward to building upon the foundation that Blue Heart has created for me as a young man.

My name is Justice Bettis, the 2020-2021 Student Vice President of The Blue Heart Foundation. I am a 17-year-old senior currently attending Mount Miguel High School. I am a San Diego native with roots in Spring Valley.

With academics, most subjects were simple for me and it took me little time to understand the material we were learning, starting from preschool and up. Although I was involved in extracurricular activities like basketball, I was still able to maintain good grades up until high school, where the drastic change in difficulty from middle school to high school took me by surprise. Along with the new challenges I faced going into high school, I also had immense pressure on my shoulders and extreme expectations to live up to.

Every time I leave a workshop, I always leave with new paths I can follow and plenty of new resources to help me walk down those paths.

I wish I had learned the value of responsibility earlier; it would have saved me from many things that I would regret later and many stressful situations. Learning to socialize and adapt to new environments has always helped me in diverse atmospheres. Being a part of The Blue Heart Foundation allowed me the opportunity to experience African American brotherhood and community activism, while also taking me out of my comfort zone, pushing me to try new things and become a leader for my community and my Blue Heart family.

As Vice President Blue Heart, I am given a leadership position and have been able to develop my character, build bonds and encourage teamwork for over 60 underclassmen.

As Vice President Blue Heart, I am given a leadership position and have been able to develop my character, build bonds and encourage teamwork for over 60 underclassmen. I have participated in a variety of workshops and events for the community. The workshops include character development, college preparedness, life skills, career paths, and opportunities to develop leadership. For 3 years I have participated in events such as award ceremonies, March of Dimes Walk for Babies, and YMCA Community Christmas and Halloween Events. Every time I leave a workshop, I always leave with new paths I can follow and plenty of new resources to help me walk down those paths.

My experience in these events makes me want to dedicate my future to helping the next generation excel in whatever path they choose to follow and giving back to the community that helped shape me. I plan to continue to participate in community events while in college because the more knowledge I gain, I feel I should share with others.

As an inspired young man looking to increase my knowledge and further my educational goals, I am ready for the next college journey. I have developed several skills in my youth that have prepared me for this moment. Growing up it was always a challenge, learning to persevere and stay focused…

Being part of this organization that develops character and leadership and conquering adversity and emotional obstacles have all groomed me to be college-ready.

About Ke’aun Dent

Ke’aun means “strong and courageous in the Lord.” In awareness of my development into the man I am becoming, I have battled special circumstances that have tested the attributes of my identity. Consequently, I learned pivotal lessons that became fundamental to my success. My journey from an early learner to International Baccalaureate scholar has been a challenge. My path as an athlete was a real-life setback. My environment where I exist as an African American male is full of perpetual images deeming me a failure. I am no stranger to obstacles.

I grew up as a struggling reader and this impacted my comprehension in every subject.

I easily recount challenge, setback, and failure. Literacy was my first challenge. I grew up as a struggling reader and this impacted my comprehension in every subject. My 8th grade math teacher had low expectations for me and told me that I would be lucky if I made it to Pre Calculus. I also had a major life setback as an athlete. From the time I was 6 years old until my freshman year of high school, I played football. I also incurred multiple concussions.

The concussion that nearly ended my life, however, was when a metal discus hit my face during track practice. Furthermore, I am always confronted with ideas of failure because the images, laws, and overall environments designed for me are perpetually negative. This time last year, I mourned the loss of 3 of my friends. Not to mention, I have been harassed by the police on several occasions. These reinforcements of failure undoubtedly affect me.

Reflecting on my challenges, schooling caused me to doubt myself. I was embarrassed as a struggling reader. My mother was a teacher and I felt unsmart. I became insecure and these feelings became a part of my identity. Later, I had to make the difficult decision to give up football to save my life. I was devastated. As a player, I made my coaches, teammates, and family proud. These accidents took a significant toll on my mental health. I could not understand why God was torturing me. I just wanted to do the one thing that made me happy. The mental effects of my environment are deeply emotional and significant because they lead to the way I comprehend and interact with the world.

Through my obstacles, I made strong comebacks. Today I am a confident scholar who speaks, reads, and writes in English, German and Spanish. I have taken advanced mathematics every year of high school, multiple Honors and AP classes, and finished honors Pre-Calculus in my junior year. Regarding my athletic setback, I transitioned my energy into creative outlets through entertainment and entrepreneurship.

I became active in the arts, dancing under the tutelage of Ms. Debbie Allen in “The Hot Chocolate Nutcracker.” I was also cast for a lead acting role in an ABC episode of “The Coroner.” I started two businesses based on my newly discovered interests – baking and buying/selling sneakers. I even earned a seat in aviation school where I am on track to secure my pilot license soon. As for my environmental challenges as an African American male, I am still seeking to overcome them.

This is where I look to Blue Heart the only program in San Diego that has such a direct impact on the progression of young Black men.

This is where I look to Blue Heart the only program in San Diego that has such a direct impact on the progression of young Black men. I have been a part of The Blue Heart Foundation for 5 years generating over 1,300 hours of community service, slowly working my way up the ranks. As the current president of the organization I am responsible for representing the brotherhood with the highest levels of Black Excellence.

I am truly grateful to have been exposed to The Blue Heart Foundation at such an early age where I have been able to develop and sharpen my interpersonal and professional skills.

I have learned invaluable lessons in developing my identity being strong and courageous in the Lord. These experiences taught me the power of faith. I learned that when one door closes, it is crucial to have faith that another door will open. I also learned the effect of brain power and aligning mental energy with personal intention.

Other lessons such as self-discipline, patience, and personal will are fundamental to my success. Ultimately, I keep in mind the bigger picture — that my future self is counting on my current self to choose to stay the course.

About De Leon

My name is De Leon Boudreaux, I am a 17-year old senior who is currently attending Mission Bay High School. I am born and raised as well as live in San Diego.

I have steadily improved in my schoolwork and strive to do my best in my classes all the way into my senior year. My entire school career has revolved around music and performing arts. I currently sing and beatbox in a professional level choir as well as sing in my school jazz ensemble. Currently it is my goal to push my talents and experiences onto a college level.

About 3 to 4 months ago my mom decided to bring me into the blue heart program. During the time I didn’t exactly have a vision of how my life would be after high school and thought because I messed up in my earlier years I would not be able to pursue a collegiate career; However moving into blue heart truly changed the mindset I had before i joined.

After Joining Blue Heart, Tracy and my blue heart brothers taught me what it meant for me to have a real brotherhood and though I thought I really knew what that meant, after joining blue heart I really felt a true sense of what it meant to have someone there as a brother. They Also introduced me to resources that would help me get into college and since joining I have gotten acceptance letters from 4 Universities.

I Really Appreciate what the Blue heart association has done not only for me but also the other students in the program and I can’t wait to see what my blue heart brothers will accomplish in the future.

About Deshawn

Hello, my name is Lawrence Deshawn Mack I’ve been in Blue Heart for 3 year now and this program has help build and help me become a man not just waking up early in the morning to make sure I’m on time but, getting to the monthly workshops and making sure I have the right material I need to be successful.

This program has set me apart from my other peers, in a good way, because it helped connect me with like-minded men that want to reach a higher goal and better education

Some of the most memorable moments I have had in Blue heart were the times we went snowboarding, kayaking and many other activities.

Blue Heart has help me become a better person in the class. Those events were fun but, I didn’t need as much help communicating and socializing as I did in the classroom.

Blue heart has helped me take my learning skill to the next level by giving me little tips like making sure I sit in the front of the class and making sure I have more than one pencil and email the teacher if I didn’t understand something.

Those were the things I learned most from Blue Heart