Life After Graduation

Transcript

Let’s meet Gian Paul, a star athlete while at Montclair State University, and current high school history teacher in Union, New Jersey. Motivational speaker and founder of Hope and Future. He’s been featured on ESPN, and more from motivating the New York Giants to a super bowl victory with all in two little words that illustrate the concept of commitment and motivated the team.

– Thanks so much, Alex. In all honesty, Montclair is probably one of the last places I saw myself going. Coming from being a student athlete, and playing basketball at a high AU level, and even winning a national championship, I’d aspirations of going division one like the rest of my teammates. But you know, as the saying goes, if you wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans. But in hindsight, my life would not have been the same without the time I was blessed to spend here. If I could use one phrase to describe my time here at Montclair, it would be room to soar, no pun intended. Ever since getting here, I had that freedom to be able to explore new opportunities. My dad being an immigrant from Havana, Cuba, and being a cornerback for the Oakland Raiders, I was always raised with a very strong work ethic. And so being able to come to a place of individuals who understood my work ethic, understood they didn’t have to yell or almost babysit me, but instead provided opportunities. I remember my basketball coach, Ted Fury. He pretty much gave me the keys to the gym, ’cause he knew I wanted to work as hard as I possibly could to be the best student athlete imaginable. Getting up at 5:00 AM, shooting 500 shots before class started. Having history professors that, they didn’t tell you what to think, they inspired you to wanna impact people. And I just developed a love and a passion for how I could help my community, not by studying something that happened in the past, but by being inspired to wanna change the present. And that’s probably one of the greatest things I got from my time here at Montclair. Academically, I also found amazing professors. Watching my history of professors in action inspired me to wanna become a history teacher, and impact the lives of the youth in my city, and teach them that history is not something you study, but something you create. In my speaking tours, I share what it means to be all in, whether it’s at Hong Kong Financial Institutions, National Car Manufacture Sales Meetings, Professional Sports Team Training Camps, or Juvenile Detention Centers, I always mention my Montclair roots. It’s amazing that across the globe, there is usually at least one individual in the audience with some sort of connection to the university, a Testament to the network of over 130,000 fellow Red Hawk alumni. Montclair is one of the life changing places that God allowed me to be a part of, that helped me not just to develop a philosophy, but a lifestyle of being all in. Back to you, Alex.

– Gian Paul, I love of the concept of being all in. Committing to your personal dreams, no matter the obstacles you face. Thank you for sharing your story. And that is just one of 130,000 alumni stories worldwide hearing from Gian Paul, it’s clear the Red Hawk alumni network is a powerful, powerful group. You can feel the momentum here at Montclair State University.