REFLECTING ON DAY ONE | FALL 2019

Nancy Gale, founder of AMBITION, welcomes students and mentors on the first day of class.

7:58 am. ‘Good-bye’ and ‘I love you’ are echoing from numerous car windows. The sound of footsteps as the students make their way to their classrooms. The voices and laughter bouncing off the walls of the buildings before the 8 AM bell. The soundtrack to Wednesday morning. A morning anticipated by many… for a variety of reasons. Today, a number of these students are embarking on their final year of high school. They have a lot to prepare for and a lot to learn, and they all requested to be sitting in these particular seats today.

A tall, slender profile with an infectious smile and long blonde tresses draping loosely past her shoulders stands and faces the class in front of a banner that reads AMBITION. Her name is Nancy Gale. It is through her efforts that everyone is here today.

Gale welcomes everyone to the first day of class, and by way of a self-introduction, tells her story through her speech: A Journey of Resilience. She has given this speech all over southern California to a wide range of groups in a variety of settings. No matter the circumstances or audience, as soon as she begins to speak, a hush comes over the room, so much so that one could absolutely hear a pin drop.

This particular morning was no exception. Her honesty and transparency, her story of the tragedies and victories that led to her founding of JAMAH and AMBITION, the respect that she has shown these students by sharing her truth so openly, has created a space of trust and empowerment and purpose.

Several students make eye contact with each other… they know that this year is going to be a challenging one of growth and inspiration, the very things needed to catapult themselves into the world that awaits them.

Pita, a longtime AMBITION mentor, makes his way to the front of the classroom. Bursting with energy, he gets the group on their feet in order to get their blood circulating. Shoulders start rolling forwards and backwards, arms swing one way, then the other. The sound of breathing fills the room. Big breaths in, then deep releases out. Smile and giggles break out as we begin air squats, jumping jacks and push-ups. The exercise has worked – we are now all awake and energized and ready to learn about all the mentors who were there.

Gale goes around the room and has each mentor introduce themselves, share some highlights from their professional background and the reasons they volunteer at AMBITION. That the students were impressed by the highly credentialed mentors and their accomplishments was palatable. Emotions began to grow and the excitement rose as they heard from sneaker designers, advertising executives, players in the entertainment, fashion, financial and technology industries, to name a few, who were all there to help them develop their entrepreneurial and business skills.

Gale invited a special guest to the front of the room. Ahmia, an AMBITION student from 2013/2015 who is now completing her business degree. She shared with the new students the role AMBITION has played in her success and encouraged them to embrace this unique opportunity. She spoke of the effect it has had on her life choices and how it gave her courage when she felt weak, reasons when she had few to cling to and hope when she felt the world caving in around her. For a few minutes, she opened up her soul to the class. She shared personal stories, she shared her privacy. In doing so, she hoped this may someday change a perception or inspire an action to anyone watching. The impact filled the room…the students of today were thinking about their stories. The stories they could share that may resonate and help or inspire a student that comes after them.

”Everything that you want to do, one of the mentors here can help you with. You don’t all know yet what that is, so use this opportunity to start to figure it out. Once you are focused on your goal, you can work toward it. Pursuing your aspirations will help you to be stable and solid and powerful and strong. AMBITION helped me grow and mature into the person I am today. You will find – like I did – that this is the most important class you are taking because it will help you grow and do what you want to do in your life.”

Before breaking into groups, Nancy reaches into her pocket of wisdom and shares a quote by H.L. Hunt that resonated with her. “Decide what you want. Decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.”

The room is quiet as the students let the words sink in. The silence quickly morphs into colossal applause. Little do they know this message will come up many times in the course of this class and they are now one step closer to figuring out the answer.

Multiple groups of students and mentors are then dispersed across the classroom, sitting in circles facing each other.

“Let’s pause for a moment and share our names and introduce ourselves. Let’s learn something about each other today.” With a slight nudge, they feel themselves eased into a conversation, though some a little more reticent than others. One by one, we learn each other’s names, eventually we learn each other’s dreams, then we begin to learn each other’s challenges.

Meanwhile, Andrew, a filmmaker with a video camera, has been unobtrusively walking around the room capturing different moments and exchanges. The students, now in a safe place of trust and respect, pay him no mind.

Then a beep. The camera shuts off. Everyone has shared something about themselves, they know a little bit more about the people sitting in their circle. Together we have begun our collective journey in AMBITION. We have begun the work of listening and supporting each other as we strive to define our dreams, learn the tools to achieve them, and begin our own Journeys of Resilience.

E. Hinckley + R.Castro

AMBITION and soon-to-be college graduate, Ahmia, shares her story of resilience and success.