One thing about me: I’m proudly old school in my mentality about a lot of things. I still write notes by hand, think hashtags are witchcraft, and believe that a good cup of tea (preferably with a pack of green Trebor Soft Mints) can solve at least 80% of life’s problems. But one thing I’ll never be old school about is believing in future talent. In their creativity, their resilience, their potential.
Being asked to explore “My Why” feels like karma. I’m always asking learners, “Why? Why this idea? Why this choice? Why does it matter? And I am going use to this little quote to get me started on this reflection:
“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like…” J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
So here we go.
Why # 1
Truth be told, I’ve worked with over 2,000 young people across 20 years, starting in education and now in industry. Teaching English was where I cut my teeth nurturing future talent. You might wonder, “Why would someone with a background in English teaching leap into the creative, digital, and tech space?” Well, in my previous role, literature was the stuff of creativity, and it’s always been about storytelling, connection, and unlocking potential.
Like all the learners on our programmes, I’ve had to navigate huge transitions, step into unfamiliar rooms, and build confidence from scratch (especially when only 0.1% of the UK education force has Afro Caribbean teachers and leaders). Along the way, I stepped into cross-college leadership roles, leading equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives and transition programmes. These experiences deepened my commitment to helping people navigate change. So joining Agent Academy felt like a natural extension of that work, supporting young people through another kind of transition: into creative, digital, and tech industries where their talents can truly shine.
Why # 2
Let me take you to last week. Our current Manchester group, aged 18 to 29, had what I can only describe as a double-whammy of brilliant feedback – each from completely different sources.
First, after their site visit to UA92, I got an email saying:
“I really enjoyed how engaged and curious they were, and Rene, Damian, and Tudor really enjoyed being involved with the event. They are a great bunch of people.”
Then, later in the week, they presented their midpoint ideas to our client CGI. Now, imagine standing up to present your strategic recommendations on the role of digital in driving clean power – a topic vast enough to intimidate most experienced professionals – when you’ve never done anything like it before. They tackled it with insight, clarity, and confidence. Afterwards, our client used words like “excellent” and “awesome”, to describe their work.
If that’s not proof of their talent, and potential, I don’t know what is.
Why #3
The week before last, I had one of those unexpected full-circle moments that makes everything worth it. I bumped into the parents of a young man I taught eight years ago, back when he was resitting his GCSE English and I was tutoring him privately alongside teaching him in college. They told me he’s now thriving as a Cyber Security Engineer, completing his BCS Level 4 apprenticeship at ANS, working in a field he loves. We’re now reconnected on LinkedIn, and seeing his updates fills me with so much pride.
And just this month, I saw a young woman I taught A Level English Literature three years ago, walking outside Manchester Met looking so happy. Later, she turned up at my office at No.2 Circle Square, and we caught up over coffee. Listening to her talk so confidently and joyfully about studying Law at MMU, her goals, her life, her plans – that’s my ‘why’.
Why #4
Finally, the ‘why’ that anchors everything.
I was born in Leicester to an Aruban-St Lucian family, and honestly, how many people can say that? It sounds like the start of a bad joke: “An Aruban, a St Lucian, and a Leicester lass walk into a bar…” Except they’re all me.
My parents are my biggest inspirations. As immigrants, they saw education as the golden ticket, the armour you put on to face the world. For them, learning wasn’t just about books or grades; it was about resilience. About standing tall in rooms that weren’t built for you. About showing up, working hard, and never letting where you start, dictate where you end up.
Their guidance has carried me through some of the toughest times in my life. This past year has tested me like no other, my dad has suffered two severe strokes, my mum had a hip operation affecting her mobility, all whilst caring for my Dad, and I’m balancing being their carer whilst studying a masters, and leading programmes in a completely different industry. But it’s in these moments I lean on what they taught me: resilience, and to keep believing in myself. Anyone in that position will tell you, it’s not exactly a ball game.
So why share this with you? Because everything I know about the power of storytelling, compassion, creativity and resilience comes from them and these are important things to know about when working our diverse future talent.
I also know that many of our learners and colleagues have been through their own profound tests of the spirit.
So my final ‘why’ final is simple. I am rewarded by building programmes that don’t just build skills, but build kindness, courage, and confidence, to create future leaders who can keep doing the work and asking the questions that unlock potential in others as well as themselves and say, “I belong here.”
Because they do.
