A Different Choice, A New Path

Brandon Leslie only walked in the door to check out a documentary program his guidance counselor from high school recommended; nine months later, he has left with a completed documentary on African American homicide and an educational award for service with AmeriCorps to begin his college education. 

When I first met Brandon, he was a reserved and quiet young man; a senior, his plans post graduation only extended to work or possibly trade school. Since he was bright, and quick to learn, I told him he would be doing himself and others a disservice by settling for the minimum.  He listened, and his journey has been a remarkable testament to the power and ability of our youth, especially those labeled “at-risk.”

We both entered the BluePrint/AmeriCorps “PreCorps Program” around the same time and a little later in the game than everyone else.  I became Brandon’s group leader and mentor as he and four other young people collaborated to produce “The New Black Plague:  Homicide in Pittsburgh.”  For twelve weeks, I saw Brandon every day for three and a half hours, always punctual and ready to work.  As the project progressed, so did his maturation and becoming; the once shy observer became an integral interviewer and thorough camera operator.  His face began to bring a smile with it every day and his mind began to unfold.  When Brandon told me he decided he wanted to apply to college for film & video production, I shared a moment of recognizable achievement in his personal progress.  The day he was notified of his acceptance to Point Park College, I participated in a monumental turning point in a young man’s journey to adulthood and courage. 

Completing the documentary project was not enough for Brandon; to gather funding for school, he applied to serve with AmeriCorps, got accepted and was placed back where it all began at BluePrint, acting as an equipment manager and guide for the new young people participating.  As summer rolled in, Brandon took courses at Point Park to improve his academic proficiency and prepare for his higher learning.  He has not looked back once since he walked through the door.

While Brandon plans to cover basic courses through CCAC before entering Point Park, he is an example of the power of change that can occur when we take the time to nurture and tend  to the generations of tomorrow.  When I first began my service, I carried with me the baggage of my perceptions of at-risk youth and young African Americans.  Brandon, as all my students, have lifted the burden of thinking that the distress and depravity of African American communities stems merely from the people themselves, that it is an issue of not doing enough to raise their own status and situations.  The truth, I have learned, is the multitude of complex social, economic and educational problems have a direct bearing on a person’s ability to simply become; the lack of opportunities for self growth and encouragement to grow, learn and sustain. 

There is a larger lesson to be learned when we share our skills and information for the conscious raising of others; there is a compassion to be gained from opening ourselves to the experience of lending our love and care to lift others who may not have another form of deliverance.  Watching all my students, I was awestruck by the modifications in behavior and attitude from start to finish; there was no recognizable point but a continuous drive sustained from the faith and belief the BluePrint program plants that they can be more, do more and create change.  As BluePrint prepares to close its three year experiment in December, I am saddened by the thought of all those who have not yet been reached or awarded those opportunities.          

As Brandon told me, “BluePrint is a good program to help youth…I wish they could get the funding to continue…you need someone to believe in you.” 

He has never regretted walking in off the street into his development.  I will never regret the struggle and fulfillment of watching him and others sprout and flourish into testimony of the gifts of choice and conviction.  Together, we walked a path of challenge and evolution, into each other’s hearts and hardships; no longer just a shoot, Brandon is the garden of growth others will take notice of and want to emulate. 

It is my blessing that everyone gets at least one opportunity to have their life touched by the progress of another.  Thank you, Brandon, for teaching me the reward of selflessness, the collapse of judgment and the importance of sharing our gifts with each other and, in turn, the world.

- Holly Wyble


Brandon Leslie (Photo courtesy of Holly Wyble)