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FEBRUARY 2006

An Interview with Geoffrey Canada

Education Update (EU):How did you choose your career?

Geoffrey Canada (GC): Growing up in the South Bronx, I knew very early—at the age of 11—that I wanted to help children in the inner cities, to combine education with social services.

EU:What was a turning point in your career?

GC: A major turning point in my life was going to high school in Wyandanch, Long Island, instead of Morris High School in The Bronx in New York City. I don’t know if I would have gotten the education in The Bronx, or if I would have grown or developed as I did.

EU:What achievements are you proudest of?

GC: My proudest achievement is creating the Harlem Children’s Zone Project, where we now have a “conveyor belt of care,” for kids. We start with them literally before they are born—by offering parenting workshops at The Baby College—and continue to work with them through college.

EU: What were the challenges you faced and how did you overcome them?

GC:The two biggest challenges were poverty and violence. I overcame them through a combination of meeting a few individuals who took an interest in me and made me feel like I was special—and luck. I was lucky enough to not be around when my friends decided to do something that might have landed me in jail. Getting a great education—at Bowdoin College and Harvard University—also was instrumental in helping me overcome my challenges.

EU:Who were your mentors?

GC: When I was a boy, a young man named Mike taught me how to survive on the streets of New York City. As a professional, John Shlien—a professor at Harvard—was a great guiding light for me. In my later career, Marian Wright Edelman helped me immeasurably.

EU: What is your advice to young people today?

GC: Get a college education. The employment picture in this country is growing more and more complicated due to the exporting of jobs around the world. Given the increasing global competition for jobs, a college degree is a minimum requirement.

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