Name: King Lewis
Occupation: Retired from Frito Lay after 40 years
Name of High School: Deerfield Academy
Location (City/State): Deerfield, Massachusetts
Name of College: The College of Wooster
Location (City/State): Wooster, Ohio
Please state the reason(s) you are supporting Project GRAD Akron and raising funds for the scholarship fund. I am supporting Project GRAD Akron because I believe in the mission of the organization to provide educational opportunities and help finance education for promising students. Assisting talented students in their educational pursuits is very important to me because education has been a primary vehicle for my success and has allowed me to change my prospects, develop a career mindset, and fulfill my dreams
Name of your favorite teacher and what made the person special to you: Mr. Poole was the Director of Upward Bound. He picked me for the program in junior high school, and created opportunities for me that I would have never anticipated. He inspired me to use education as the major vehicle for my success, and he challenged me to do better. Mr. Poole believed in me when I did not believe in myself. When I was in high school, he took me on a trip to Massachusetts, and the next thing I knew, I was enrolled in boarding school at Deerfield Academy. This educational opportunity was transformative and opened my mind to so many possibilities. I learned that my education was what I made it and it was up to me to embrace opportunities.
What were some of your most enjoyable times in school? (preschool through college): My most enjoyable times in school were competing in sports and fostering friendships, which satisfied my competitive nature. I was a two-sport athlete, but excelled in track and field, setting 19 personal and team records in indoor and outdoor track and field during my college career at the College of Wooster.
Looking back over the years, what advice would you give to your high school self or college self? The advice I would give my younger high school and college self would be to become more diligent about exploring scholarship and grant opportunities for college, programs like Project GRAD, opportunities for studying abroad, internships, or externships to help me leverage a range of educational opportunities, as well as mentors and sponsors to help me network in ways that enhance and further my career.
Favorite quote: Do today what others won’t so that tomorrow you will do what others can’t.