My siblings and I were raised inside of Naranja Housing projects. At a very young age, I was exposed to gun violence, murder, drug dealing, and many violent criminal acts. While attending public school, I was labeled emotionally handicapped/distributed, suspended more than twenty times, missed over 100 days from public school, scored 580 out 1600 on the standard achievement test, (SAT), graduated with a 2.0gpa, and number 252 out of a possible 280 graduates. In addition, I lost both a father and brother to murder. It was not long before I found myself in jail with the possibility of prison.

With the help of a few, I realized that my struggles were not just black struggles or white struggles. I realized my struggle for better housing, education, jobs, and family life were American struggles. And that deep down in my struggles, were the ingredients for success.

Determined to change a sure destiny of failure, I found myself reading great stories about remarkable Americans, such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Frederick Douglas, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Within a short time, I attended Howard University where I earned my undergraduate degree. Later, I enrolled and earned my Juris Doctorate degree from Thurgood Marshall School of Law.

Today, I am a former Assistant State Attorney, a college professor, a national motivational/keynote speaker who has been heard and seen by millions, author of my memoir: a mer[e] I-CAN is AMERICAN, and founder and president of 2NOIT Media and Publishing. I interned with the First Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas, the United States Senate, NAACP, Miami-Dade County Commission’s Chairperson Dennis C Moss, and the Law Office of Larry R. Handfield.

I have been featured on the reality television show “College Hill,” recognized by AT&T and the Miami Herald as a one of Miami’s Rising Voices, and published in many different publications around the country. Currently, I am the current President of Transition Inc, Greater Miami Service Corps, MPACT, and other community non-profit organizations.

When I am not spending time with my wife, three children, and family dog, I serve as a mentor and advocate for students with exceptionalities and ex-offenders. My journey led me to one final conclusion: the American Dream is neither material nor is it only available to a certain class or race of people. It is simply having a second chance to do what was not done the first time around. I believe my mere birth enabled me to be the beneficiary of the American Dream, while my hard work, hope, and determination to change my destiny revealed to me that my life experiences, taken together, were the ingredients for my success.