Tristan Love
Houston Independent School District
Houston, TX USA
"Whatever you do is gonna be ten times harder than for the next person, but because of what you went through, you’ll be ten times more capable."
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Tristan's work combines: Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and Teaching / Mentoring
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
It was a difficult reality to accept, but I knew I was the caliber of student that could succeed at any school and make a name for myself. I've always been told it's good to be a big fish in a small pond.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Biology/Biological Sciences, General
Wiley College
Graduate Degree
Educational Leadership and Administration, General
University of St. Thomas
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Grew up in crime- and poverty-stricken neighborhoods in Houston, TX.
2.
Says his green eyes and lighter complexion made him an outsider and a target in these neighborhoods, which forced him to resort to violence to protect himself.
3.
Joined a gang at the age of 12—says he was the kid that got into trouble outside of school, but excelled in school: “My conduct wasn’t always on point, but my grades were.”
4.
He accepted a majority-to-minority transfer that sent him to a predominantly white high school where he felt his chances to succeed were better, but found he still had to defend himself.
5.
At the end of his first year there, he started a gang riot and his transfer was revoked—he moved across Houston to live with his father to “reinvent himself,” but his gang troubles followed him.
6.
After a rival gang burned down his house, he thought he’d have to drop out of school to help his family financially—a nonprofit organization stepped in with aid so that he could stay in school.
7.
He and his friend ended up earning full-ride scholarships to debate at Wiley College—there they joined the second generation of the infamous debate team, “The Great Debaters.”
8.
After graduation, he worked with Teach for America and is now one of Houston Independent School District’s youngest assistant principals, helping other at-risk students succeed in school and beyond.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Parents:
You can't go to your dream school because it's too expensive, you have to take the scholarship and go to the free school.
How I responded:
It was a difficult reality to accept, but I knew I was the caliber of student that could succeed at any school and make a name for myself. I've always been told it's good to be a big fish in a small pond.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was initiated into a gang when I was 12 years old and got into a gang brawl at my high school which resulted in me getting kicked out. Later, someone burned down our house and my family was left with nothing but the clothes on our back.
When I was still in the gang, two of my good friends got killed. This motivated me to leave the gang and get my life back on track.
I was raised largely by a single mother. My father was married to someone else.
When I was younger, I ran away from home due to my gang life. An unplanned pregnancy my last year of college derailed my plans for medical school. When I was older, my youngest daughter was born with down syndrome.