SAN DIEGO, - When actor Hill Harper of “CSI: NY” was a teenager, a pivotal moment forced him to see dreams and goals not as end-points but as launching pads to bigger and better things.
Speaking at the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program’s annual workshop here on June 24, Harper recalled that crucial moment, when it seemed his world had fallen apart, but really it was just coming together.
He recounted for the crowd, which is known for turning around at-risk youths through live-in military-style school programs across the United States, that after an especially successful high school football game, Hill was expecting a call offering him a full ride playing football for the University of California, Berkeley.
His dad received the call, handing it off to the young Harper, saying “Son, here’s the phone.”
Harper prepared himself with the idea of playing as a Cal Bear. However, what the coach told him sank his heart to his feet: The coaches couldn’t unanimously bring him on board with a scholarship, because some of them thought he wasn’t big enough.
Standing at 5 feet 7 inches, the young athlete with a slight build felt the crushing weight of rejection make him feel even smaller.
Later, Harper received another call, which he said he would have never taken had his first choice not fallen through. It was Brown University offering him what Berkeley would not – a full scholarship and encouraging words: “We think you’re big enough to play Ivy League football.”
He summed up the experience by saying, “Sometimes rejection is God’s protection.”
So, the young athlete-turned-scholar began a different route, motivated by university mentors and steeped in the arts. Harper graduated magna cum laude from Brown with a bachelor of arts degree and continued on to graduate cum laude from Harvard Law School, as well as with a master’s in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
After obtaining his degrees, Harper decided to broach the acting world with the same idea of not letting goals and dreams take him to end-points, but to see how far and how much more he could dream.
Harper and the largely older crowd of Youth ChalleNGe officials here seemed to initially regard each other tentatively. Harper wasn’t necessarily an advocate of the Youth ChalleNGe program, but he supported its efforts to set young people straight; and the Youth ChalleNGe leaders may not have been on board with how Harper relates to youths, but they liked that he recognized and supported mentoring and education.
By the end of the three-hour event, the two had been made fans of each other. Both realized they are in the business of motivating youths to be the best they can, often encouraging them to rise above their current paths.
Harper discussed many of his personal thoughts on how to relate to the youth of America, using a language that military members understand: acronyms. He said everyone could better relate to youths by challenging their concept of FEAR (False Evidence Appearing Real) and uplifting their self-esteem by telling them that they are FINE (Fantastic, Interesting, Necessary and Exceptional).
In his motivational books, “Letters to a Young Brother” and “Letters to a Young Sister,” both of which were autographed and given to workshop participants, Harper said teachers need to approach youths just like the entertainment business does.
They need to listen to what the kids are listening to, be up on the same social media sites as their students, speak in a language they can understand, and then complement these with more influential conversations and motivational messages that can change lives.
He grilled the crowd about lyrics by musicians Kanye West and Bow Wow; he asked which audience members are actively Facebooking and Tweeting; and then he turned a finger on himself, saying show business can act as a direct competitor to those who are trying to empower youths.
“So many young people are struggling,” Harper said. “The entertainment business — it can disintegrate self-esteem in them more than any other business.”
This is why, Harper said, those in direct contact with youths need to use entertainment and its messages to grab teens’ attention and then guide them onto the correct path by using that tool — the “bling” of the industry.
“Certainly many of the things Hill Harper said resonated with the beliefs I already have,” said Gregg Ash, who works with the Youth ChalleNGe program in Illinois. “However, one thing he did say was to push myself out of my comfort zone and really try to connect with students on their level. I’m going to go back and put that to the test.”