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.
