I came from inner city Milwaukee, a single parent home with one brother and sister, no car. From jump you are behind the eight ball because you're not only a African American kid, but you are economically low class, you have very little money and your schools aren't very good. All of my friends were going to the local school, but my mom made the decision to send me to the suburbs for school. I was the only black kid for many years, and that was hard for me, but slowly it started to change and more black students started attending the school. I eventually learned that it was the best thing that could've happened to me when I learned the lesson that ultimately you are a by product of your environment and as a child, your school is one of the biggest, most influential environments in your world.
In retrospect, it was an issue of race as much as economics. Unemployment was not an issue in my school community and my peers had parents who were college graduates and siblings who were taking the SAT's when we were in junior high. They were exposed to different things and had more opportunities than the kids in my neighborhood. I honestly believe that if that same type of opportunity existed in the inner city, you'd see different results. I was exposed to a plethora of good examples of being responsible and being a successful adult. In the community I lived in there were good role models, but unfortunately, there were an overwhelming number of negative examples, in fact, the negative examples could be found on every street corner. I have friends to this day from both of the worlds that I lived in as a child, but they all had the same vision, they all got caught up in good things, and they all exhibited positive behaviors.
Another contributor to my success was athletes. I was involved in athletics from first grade all the way to the professional level. I was an athlete every day of my life and the threat of not being able to compete because I made a bad choice was a big part of my decision making. I had practice every day after school and by the time I got home and finished my homework they day was done. Very little time to get into trouble and trouble never seemed as attractive as competing and winning. And while athletics is certainly not the end all, be all, athletics can be the vehicle for a child with no other way to get to college, to be able to go.
Today, I work in corporate America as the Creative Director for ESPN.com. Walking into the ABC Building in New York City is a long way from inner city Milwaukee. In corporate America, I know I have to be better than than my coworkers next to me. I knew that as a child, and it continues to be something that drives me today. I surround myself with forward thinkers and creative learners. I want to lead by example so that the young people around me see what a smart guy does. But for those who don't get to see me, I want them to know what I believe being a 'Smart Guy' is all about. Being a 'Smart Guy' is having the ability to have self-confidence in your decisions--to have the ability to zig when everybody else is zagging, and to have the guts and the wherewithal to do that at age twelve, thirteen and fourteen. I want them to know, that I know, that it takes guts as a boy, trying to be a man, to make the right choice. But it is easier to do if you can surround yourself with other 'Smart Guys' who are also making the right choice. I am proud to be a 'Smart Guy' and to have surrounded myself with other smart guys and girls.
A Creative 'Smart Guy',
David
David Marshall Jr. is a Creative Director for ESPN.com and lives in Brookyln, NY with his beautiful wife and 8 year old daughter. David has also worked at the Washington Post and graduated from University of Wisconsin Milwaukee where his team actually played against and beat Zach's college team. He spent four years playing professional soccer before transitioning into the field of design. he credits a creative mind and the imagination to create something that wasn't there before as a cornerstone of his success. You can see a snapshot of David's portfolio at http://www.pixelflexmedia.com/
