SCHOLARS PROGRAM ’04 | THE LAWRENCEVILLE SCHOOL ’08 | YALE COLLEGE ’12 | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA ’14 | YALE LAW SCHOOL ’17

Before SEEDS, I attended a good school, but my classmates and I all had similar, Christian backgrounds. Many of us were motivated academically, but we weren’t so much focused on learning as a means of opening doors, as we were on competing with each other. We worked hard, but our goal was to be right or to be first. We were young, and we hadn’t quite appreciated the impact on our future of not just what we learn, but also how we learn and how we use what we learn.

During my seventh-grade year, my teacher told me about SEEDS. I’m not sure how she learned about the program, but she approached me one day and said she thought I’d be a good fit for the program.

My parents had always placed a lot of importance on education. They sacrificed a lot to send us to a private school in Bayonne where we were safer and got a more rigorous education. They were always looking for ways for my brother and me to put ourselves in the best position possible to go to college and lead happy productive lives. That’s why it was so important, not just for me but for my family, as well, that I participate in SEEDS.

SEEDS was a rewarding educational experience, but more than that, it was a tremendous cultural awakening for me. Before I started SEEDS, basically all of my friends were people from church or the Christian school I went to. Not all of them were Black, but many of them were, and basically, all of them were Christian. From the minute I stepped on the bus and sat down beside my first SEEDS friend, who happened to be a Pakistani kid from downtown Jersey City, my life was forever changed. I learned so much about different cultures and traditions, all, of course, while getting a rigorous academic education. I can’t say enough about how rewarding the educational component of SEEDS is—basically having school nonstop for the year and a half before starting high school and getting invaluable help on my secondary school applications—but the social aspect, in hindsight, is what stands out as most important. I just learned so much about what it means to respect and admire people from very different backgrounds from my own. That lesson made the transition to boarding school much easier. I’d say the same for the transition to college. And now, as I’m raising a multi-cultural family, I know that the seeds for how I conduct myself as a husband and dad were planted when I was a SEEDS student.

Being a part of SEEDS meant that I now had the opportunity to attend a private, independent school that would allow me to get out of the city, meet new people, and experience new things. SEEDS hosted one or two independent school fairs, and I was like a kid walking around a candy shop and not just any candy shop but one where all the stuff on offer was good for you, was stuff that you should want to try and experience. In that sense, SEEDS satiated my appetite to learn in ways that my previous school did not and, given limited resources, really could not. Based on the rewarding educational and social experiences I had in SEEDS, I knew that attending an independent school would be a continuation of that. Going to SEEDS at Dwight Englewood during Phases I and II helped me envision myself there. And once I saw myself in that environment, I knew that was where I wanted to continue my education.

After graduating from SEEDS, I attended the Lawrenceville School. Compared to my previous school experience, it was more rigorous and just more intense in general. I found myself (1) having to ask for more help with my school work; (2) being more mindful about managing my time between schoolwork, sports, and being social; and (3) learning how to keep my eyes on the bigger picture, to remind myself of why I was there and what my goals were. I learned how to deal with academic disappointment, and I was able to see myself grow every single semester. In addition, a lot of the social and emotional growth that people undergo when they attend college, I experienced then because I was living away from home for the first time.

So, how would my life have been different without SEEDS? This is a hard question to answer because my parents put such a premium on education. But I have a hard time thinking that I’d have had the same academic success or that I’d have had the privilege to attend the prestigious institutions that I’ve attended. I very possibly would not have seen as much of the world or formed deep friendships with people from as many different cultures. I’m almost certain that I would not have married my wife, who is from Sri Lanka and had a vastly different upbringing from mine. We met while we were teaching at Lawrenceville, the boarding school I attended. And if I had not met my wife, we would not have had our two beautiful daughters. Put simply, the richest relationships I have are ones I can trace back to the opportunities I had because of my participation in SEEDS. That is undeniable.

Now, as an alum of SEEDS, I want those who follow in my steps to know this: Yes, SEEDS—the administrators who run the program, the teachers who instruct you, SEEDS alumni, and your peers—all have high expectations for you. We believe in you. Revel in that. Work hard.

But a lot of what SEEDS teaches you isn’t in a book; the lessons are social. SEEDS will teach you how to be fluent in unfamiliar situations and to be comfortable with and respect those who are different from you. These lessons are the ones that will have the biggest impact on you as you navigate college, the workforce, and all sorts of relationships. Put simply, SEEDS isn’t just invested in helping you be a better student; SEEDS will make you a better citizen.