Funding for this program was made possible by The Heinz Endowments.

Thank you.

- I do believe that it's important to see someone that looks like you doing it.

- It's my responsibility to illustrate to them how we conduct ourself in a civilized society.

- I didn't know what success was.

I wanted my parents and people in the community to be proud of me.

- In the mid-1960s in Little Rock, there were no black people on TV.

- It's hard work.

It's sacrifice.

NARRATOR: They are African American men in leadership roles, [SINGING] teaching, mentoring.

- How you doing?

NARRATOR: Succeeding in many different careers.

Law.

- And my mother used to always tell me about Thurgood Marshall.

NARRATOR: Medicine.

- She complained of back and leg pain.

NARRATOR: Media.

- You know, I'm more than just a black writer.

I'm a journalist who has an insight on these issues.

NARRATOR: And more.

- They come to the theater and they can look on the stage and say, oh, wow, there's somebody up there that looks like me.

NARRATOR: These men are just a few of the many profiled in this series so far.

But now -- - I'm thinking about being a police officer.

NARRATOR: Sometimes, someone younger leads the way, and you're about to meet four of them.

BOY: I've always wanted to go into the FBI.

- My mom used to tell me that when I was in elementary school that she never thought I would be, like, as good of a student as I am right now because I used to just play video games all the time.

- These are wristees.

They're some of my product.

They're wrist warmers.

- And I asked one of the supervisors there, what was the most difficult design and shape for a park.

NARRATOR: Challenge.

It's what these boys welcome.

Tevin, Marino, Winston, and Ronald.

RONALD: This is my original design in color.

NARRATOR: All standing out among their peers.

Every day, setting examples, changing perceptions, not waiting for someday, they're already doing it.

- I have goals.

There's just things I want in life and the only way to go do it -- the only way to achieve those goals is to go out and do it.

[♪♪] - My name is Ronald Butler.

I'm 15 years old.

I'm in 9th grade at Pittsburgh CAPA 6 through 12.

I like to draw, spend my free time playing on my electronics, as well as swimming during the summer.

We're at my park in Wilkinsburg.

And it's called Piano Place.

My original design was a grand piano.

This part right here, it is meant to look like a keyboard on a piano.

[PLAYING NOTES] I added this for the younger kids so they would be entertained as well as the adults when they were relaxing.

This is the sound drums where it adds another sort of instrumental aspect to the Piano Place.

NARRATOR: Ronald Butler was 12 when he designed this park located next to a community garden on Jeanette Street.

He got the idea while attending a Pittsburgh Public School's Summer Dreamers program, CampDEC, which stands for design, explore, create.

CampDEC was hosted by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation.

- We had a free time one day, and I decided to draw a park.

And I asked one of the supervisors there what was the most difficult design and shape for a park.

And they said, a piano.

And I said, all right, I'll try it.

And so after I designed it, I showed it to the main supervisor there.

And she said I should really submit this to the mayor.

NARRATOR: And Ronald did, sending Pittsburgh's mayor, Luke Ravenstahl, this hand-drawn sketch.

The Mayor wrote back saying he liked it, but had no place to build it.

- This is a triple fountain where, like, two fountains would join into one.

NARRATOR: Then, when Ronald was in 8th grade, the folks from PHLF, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, well, they called.

- PHLF Foundation had found a space in Wilkinsburg to design my park.

- He just came running towards me and he said, Ms. Pearlman, Ms. Pearlman, they're going to build my park.

And I said, Ronald, they're going to build your park?

And he said, yeah, I'm serious, they're going to build my park.

This is the first time I've noticed they really do resemble a piano keyboard.

NARRATOR: Melissa Pearlman is the principal at CAPA, the Creative and Performing Arts Academy downtown.

Ronald is in the theater program there.

Creative on stage, and creative in his suggestions.

- Nothing, sorry.

- He came to me and he said, Ms. Pearlman, I have this great idea.

We need to get rid of all of our books and replace all the books at CAPA with tablets.

And I'm going to write to Amazon and I'm going to get us a grant.

I just need to know how many students and how many tablets, and how much can you get so I know how much I can get.

And that's just how Ronald is.

He never thinks just about himself.

He's always thinking about other people.

- It's not just one idea one way.

It's collaboration on ideas to make something amazing.

NARRATOR: And like the Dark Project, it's all about collaboration.

Ronald worked with the PHLF and learned to understand some things take time.

RONALD: After a long process of editing and redesigning and shaping the park to fit in the space, here came one of my best moments.

NARRATOR: That best moment: October 27th, 2012, the day the park opened.

RONALD: I remember the dedication day where my family was there and it was cold and I was very cold.

I also remember me getting an award stating that October 27th was to be recognized in honor of me and my achievements.

But at the time, I did not see it as a thing that I did for me.

I saw it as a thing that I could do to help out the community.

NARRATOR: The award was a proclamation from Allegany County.

Ronald transformed a piece of the neighborhood and his mom saw a transformation in him.

MARCIA: He said, I'm going to research the type of material that we can use to make this a green friendly park or have it so the children, if they're playing there, that they don't hurt themselves.

And he even looked up, looked into the trees that were low maintenance for the people that were keeping - taking care of the place.

- I know we were supposed to be planting dwarf cherry blossom trees because in the spring time, they would blossom and add another interest to the park.

MARCIA: He became a business man.

He became a true business man when this park - he was very, very happy that they took his idea and they went forward with it.

DR. LANE: The principal wanted me to see the Piano Park diagram.

So Ron showed it to me, explained the whole thing -- NARRATOR: Dr. Linda Lane is Superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools.

She was at the groundbreaking and also knew Ron from earlier at the Summer Dreamers Program where they posed for this photo.

DR. LANE: I used that picture for a couple things because it was a great photo.

Little did I know that I later would be going to the Piano Park that actually was built based on his design.

And I got to go to that dedication.

And I told him I'd never known a park designer before, especially one that was of middle school age.

And so it was just one of the most fabulous events I've attended as an educator, to see a young person have a dream and make it real.

- And not only me just having a park built, but also with me having a lasting memory that I can one day tell my children.

- The park really gave him the empowerment to say, wow, I can do something that can be accomplished.

I can work hard and have huge dreams and watch it all happen.

I think it even surprised him.

RONALD: I did not really think very highly of myself at all or had any real self confidence.

I've learned to gain some sort of self worth.

- I said, you put your mind to anything, you can do anything, and you can be anything.

RONALD: If you want to do it, then you just got to try really hard and just keep believing that you can.

And hopefully, it will come to be.

MARINO: My name is Marino Swanson.

I'm 18 years old.

And I like to help others.

I like to work with others.

NARRATOR: Marino Swanson is a busy young man.

He interns at the Duquesne Police Department learning what it's like to be an officer.

MARINO: What considers those the most dangerous calls?

MARINO: When I was younger, I've always wanted to go into the FBI.

So I was always inspired by watching all of the shows that come on TV like CSI, Criminal Minds, and all that.

- Do you need to know how to make a fire to survive?

- Yeah.

- Yes.

NARRATOR: He attends high school in the morning -- BOY: So what is the police thing doing?

Because I'm thinking about being a police officer.

NARRATOR: After, he goes next door to the elementary school.

MARINO: ...a little session actually.

So why don't you hold that question and I'll answer it for you.

MARINO: I mentor three children.

Two are in 7th grade and one is in 5th grade.

NARRATOR: Marino is a senior at Propel Braddock Hills High School.

He stays busy because he wants to be successful.

- Why isn't Jose coming?

- Because he had to sit out.

- Oh, okay.

It's important to me because I like to stay out of trouble.

There's goals I have in life, and the only way to achieve those goals is to stay focused and do what you have to do.

- You have vocab next week and then vocab the following week and then you're done.

NARRATOR: Propel Braddock Hills is a charter school with students from 15 different school districts.

Its mission, to provide an education for any student.

- And just to really catalyze that education and to provide a quality education for any student no matter where - what neighborhood you come from.

NARRATOR: Joe Oliphant is the co-principal.

He's know Marino for several years and says Marino is a role model.

JOE: He's done a great job with balancing his work here at school, outside of school, sports.

I mean, he does rec sports.

He runs track and field.

In the evenings, does karate and tae kwon do.

He just does everything.

- Isaiah is not here.

He's on a field trip.

- Okay, awesome.

NARRATOR: To stay balanced and get everything done, Marino's day starts early.

MARINO: It's at 5:45 in the morning.

And whenever I wake up, I go through all the morning experiences.

And then at 7:00, I'm on my bus on my way to school and my first period class which starts at 8:00.

And my last period class doesn't end until 12:15.

After that, I'm either going to lunch, or I'm on my way to my internship.

- And it fits under the passenger, the passenger side.

- Oh, okay.

JOE: Marino's internship with the Duquesne Police Department, he said that that was something he was passionate about and wanted to make a difference at that level.

And we kind of got in place - OFFICER: The daylight shift, not too many calls.

It all depends.

Like when the kids are in school, it's quiet.

Marino is a young, bright individual who is pursuing law enforcement in this area.

OFFICER: Prisoners in the back, during the transport sometimes they have - try to hide drugs back there.

OFFICER: We'll receive calls.

And I explain to him what the calls are about.

And once we're upon arrival, he'll come in with me.

A very serious situation, we'll have him wait in the vehicle.

If it's a very dangerous situation, we'll drop him off at a business in the area and then come back and pick him up.

- I actually found out that I do not want to go into police work.

Because I see how dangerous it is and how it can change a person like that.

- You're going to college to be an FBI agent?

- Yeah, that's what I plan on doing.

I would like to go into forensics or -- NARRATOR: When Marino is not interning, he's mentoring.

- Just listen to what the police do - tell you to do.

NARRATOR: With young boys like these, at Braddock Hills Elementary school.

MARINO: I love it because I know exactly how they feel when they get in trouble for just blurting out and talking and misbehaving because I went down that road once.

- One of the greatest things that the mentoring program brings to our school is Marino's able to relate some of the experiences he's already had, then share them with the students in our building.

- To go into, like, the FBI or anything like that for federal government, you have to have a good, clean background.

MARINO: They always need that person to actually step up and talk to them, and show them that, yeah, I was the same way you were.

I was in your shoes.

You're not the only one.

You're not bad, just to put it that way.

You just - you're a child.

You do what kids do.

And the joy it brings to me is that, over the course of time, we develop this one-on-one relationship and it's like a big brother or a little brother type thing.

And they're just someone they can talk to or look up to and ask for advice.

Everyone has a bad day.

JOE: He gets along so well.

He guides them.

You know, just kind of continues to encourage them making good decisions.

And the kids look forward to it every week.

I think it's great to see a high school student in a different capacity.

You know, you may say, hey, he does great with his peers, he does a good grade.

But if you see that he's making a difference in someone else's life, and he surely is.

- So what was that call about?

NARRATOR: Marino's next destination, Penn State Allegany to pursue his interest in criminal justice and forensic science.

MARINO: To be a positive, African American male who doesn't play basketball, who doesn't play any type of professional sport, that just basically worked hard through school and kept that perseverance going.

MAN: ♪ One, two, what you gonna do?

♪ WINSTON: My name is Winston Nunley.

I'm 11 years old.

I would describe myself as a clothing designer.

For me, designing comes to me with fabrics, all the beautiful fabric, how pretty stuff looks when it's done.

I make casual clothing.

I like cat pants.

I live velvet pants.

I like velvet shirts.

I like fleece pants.

NARRATOR: Winston Nunley of Point Breeze started sewing at five years old.

WINSTON: I started embellishing stuff and then I started getting some fabrics from the thrift store and cutting it and sewing it with our old sewing machine into something new.

And then once I got really good, I was able to get this serger.

And I was able to use really tricky fabrics like velvet and other stuff.

NARRATOR: That other stuff included a line of wrist warmers.

Winston calls them wristees and he's sold them to family and friends.

- Hey look, I'm wearing my velvet wrist warmers.

Velvet, that's right.

Velvet.

[GIGGLES] And the fleece ones were really big for just keeping warm because there's a little point right here, I believe, on your wrist, that warms up your body a little bit more if you have it warm.

My first shirt that I ever made, it was for Halloween.

I was a dryad, or a tree spirit.

Here are the trousers that I made for it and here's the shirt that goes with it.

These are what I call wing shirts because sewed onto - serged onto the sleeves.

This is a little outfit that I made for my friend.

This is another one of my favorite fabrics because it's really soft and it's really fun.

This is a coat in progress.

I call it the chrysalis coat because it's for the ensemble in New York -- NARRATOR: Now Winston has a rack of clothes he designed and made.

- This is one of my favorites -- NARRATOR: It's enough for a fashion show, so he created one.

[♪♪] - Come.

Now gather around, children.

I have a beautiful story to tell you.

NARRATOR: This program, called Windafire One, was presented at the Afro-American Music Institute in Homewood.

It tells a story in the magic world of Fleeceville, the cutest, softest, and cuddliest place in the world.

- Our beautiful mermaid!

NARRATOR: Everyone is comfortable, and every child is special and loved.

- ...Because our ocean waves are polluted by plastic bottles.

WINSTON: My inspiration comes from nature a little bit.

Colorful designs and certain people in my life.

- It looks like our designer, Windafire!

Give it up!

NARRATOR: Winston's designs caught the attention of the Custom Tailors and Designers Association, a trade organization founded in Columbus, Ohio in 1880.

- Check him out!

All right!

Windafire, ladies and gentlemen, designed everything you saw today.

NARRATOR: He's been invited to its education event in New York City.

There, Winston will show his ensemble and attend several classes.

- ♪ I believe I can see... ♪ NARRATOR: Winston is a musician too, writing and playing his own work.

- ♪ All of us shining brightly ♪ - Winston is home educated.

We've been really lucky to have Counsel of Elders to support him in his education and to help him follow his dreams.

- ♪ I believe I can see harmony ♪ WINSTON: Just one little thought.

Stay true to yourself.

And if what you want to do was meant to be, then you'll just kind of feel it, that it's fun and you'll want to do it all the time like sewing for me, and music.

- ♪ I believe I can see all of us shining brightly ♪ TEVIN: My name is Tevin Mickens.

I'm a graduating senior from Shady Side Academy.

My father was my inspiration.

He was definitely a hard-working business man.

And I could see, you know, his dedication.

So I definitely think that influenced me.

NARRATOR: Playing four square with his classmates is Tevin Mickens.

He's a senior at Shady Side Academy in Fox Chapel.

Finally, after years of working hard in school, he can relax now.

- Dear Tevin, welcome to Yale College.

It is with the greatest enthusiasm that I write to congratulate you on your admission to the class of 2018.

NARRATOR: Tevin applied to 14 colleges and was accepted to 12.

- I got into UVA, University of Michigan, University of Southern California, NYU Abu Dhabi, Cornell University, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, Stanford University, Yale University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

NARRATOR: That's a lot of schools.

Even more impressive, one of the schools, New York University at Abu Dhabi, flew Tevin to its campus in the United Arab Emirates for an all expenses paid candidates weekend.

Tevin got to meet students from all over the world, attend sample classes, and tour the area.

TEVIN: You kind of think, well, how did I get into all of these schools?

Definitely, hard work does pay off and putting a lot of pressure on myself to do the best work that I could do in high school.

And then definitely - I mean, I know my mom used to tell me it's not just about getting good grades.

It's more about differentiating yourself amongst those students.

NARRATOR: So following his mother's advice, Tevin got busy with interests and activities outside of school.

How busy?

Well, take a look at this.

Type in Tevin Mickens in an Internet search, and what comes up?

Three full pages of hits.

Tevin blogs.

He has three on The Huffington Post Teen Page.

This one is called The Exchange Student Survival Guide.

Tevin shares some things he learned when he and his twin sister Tarin hosted two exchange students from Madrid.

The search also turns up these news articles citing Tevin's National Achievement Scholarship Award and being a National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalist.

Even a couple of society mentions, photos of Tevin and Tarin attending the Jack and Jill Ball at the Omni William Penn Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

Jack and Jill of America is an organization for the betterment of African American children.

- Well, I was the Eastern Regional Teen Vice President last year.

So basically what that means is I create workshops and modules for younger teens and teens about my age across the Eastern Seaboard.

So that is around 1,500 kids.

So although it's not one-on-one mentoring, it's kind of a form of leadership and leadership training, but on a grander scale.

- Nice to see you.

Have a seat.

NARRATOR: Tevin did an internship too at Eton, a global electrical company in Moon Township.

- What interested me is kind of getting an idea of Eton's market or Eton's share in the market in different parts of the country.

NARRATOR: Tevin got to see what it's like to work for a major company.

- Marketing is a big job, right?

So I know you're really interested in marketing and -- NARRATOR: Joanne Edwards is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Residential and Wiring, also Tevin's supervisor.

- How are you helping to build students that can come later on -- NARRATOR: And a strong supporter of high school internships.

- Great to see you.

Well, it's a great opportunity for a high school person to go learn about what they think they want to do later on in life.

Because most of us, I think came out of school and really didn't know until we went to college.

So these students get a chance to go learn a little bit about business or their area of interest before they actually go out and get their degree.

So I think that's really exciting.

- So this is an air conditioning disconnect switch here.

NARRATOR: At Eton, Tevin worked the marketing department, learning about customers and products.

- ...Of products that you'll be actually working in.

JOANNE: I'm actually quite pleased at how much Tevin learned just by interacting with a lot of people on the team.

So he was able to tell me today about customers, about competitors, about markets, about products.

- And they can use that as a safety mechanism?

- Exactly.

- Awesome.

JOANNE: And I frankly didn't expect that out of a high school student.

So he's quite an amazing young man.

- Hey Tevin.

How are you?

- Great.

How are you?

- Good to see you.

- Nice seeing you.

NARRATOR: Tom Colt is the college counselor at Shady Side Academy.

His job is to help juniors and seniors in their college search.

- Were you able to catch up with some Shady Side alums at either school?

NARRATOR: Tom says Tevin has the qualities that universities are looking for.

- He's one of these people who's not afraid to take intellectual risks.

He's not afraid to make a mistake.

NARRATOR: Now that he's graduated, Tevin is going to Yale, studying economics and computer science.

It was a difficult decision.

So he reflected deeply.

That's his personal technique, and one he says other young people will find useful too.

TEVIN: You just kind of think on it and let your mind, you know - you kind of galvanize and, you know, perfect these ideas.

And then eventually, something is going to, you know - something is going to come out, and it's going to be really what you've hoped for.

NARRATOR: Tevin did get what he'd hoped for, and he's now looking to move forward.

- I want to be happy.

And whatever I'm doing, I want to be the best that I can be at it.

NARRATOR: Being the best is an aspiration that resonates in all of these boys.

- It outlines the shape of a piano.

NARRATOR: Resonating in Ron with his park.

- I do not actually know what I would like to become in the future.

I just know that I do want to be successful one day.

NARRATOR: In Winston with his creative ingenuity.

- My goals are to live my life with lots of skills and have a happy little family that has not too much, but enough to live in the world.

NARRATOR: And in Marino with this message to other boys and young men who are already doing it.

- Stay positive.

Keep trying.

Never give up.

You have to keep that motivation up.

And you have to get involved in community so you stand out.

[♪♪] Funding for this program was made possible by The Heinz Endowments.

Thank you.