Transcripts

ALAN PAGE: We are all a part of the same hole. And if we are going to prosper as a whole, then we all have to prosper. And the way we're going to prosper, at least a big part of the way we're going to prosper, is by having those who follow after us prepared to meet the challenges that are there.

Whether it be on the world stage, dealing with global economies. Whatever it may be, if we don't prepare those who come after, then we all lose. In a sense, I guess you could say there is some self-interest. There's the saying that it has to do with the tide rising all boats will rise with the tide. Well, they all rise with the tide if everybody's in the boat.

And we, both in Minnesota and around the country, have a lot of people who aren't in the boat. And I think it's incumbent upon those of us who have the ability to try to assist those who aren't in the boat to get into the boat.

SPEAKER: There is a lot said on a regular basis about children of color and the things that they face in the public school system that are above and beyond what any other group of kids face. Low expectations, a lot of the self esteem issues that go into having trouble being one of 30 or 35 kids in a classroom. Was it difficult for you in any sense to take a specific group of children and focus on them or not?

ALAN PAGE: Well, what we've done is said the way we can have an impact is by getting people from those minority communities working with younger children. Getting them back, and it's the old saying of you can feed someone or you can teach them how to feed themselves. We're trying to, in essence, teach them how to feed themselves because you can do far more that way.

And also the fact that those of us who are minorities, the only way our lot is going to improve is if we are about the task of improving. We have to do it because nobody's going to do it for us. I think that's been demonstrated. And therefore, it's incumbent upon us to be involved.

The young people that we support through financial assistance, and who go back into the community, and become those role models, building that self-esteem. And hopefully having an influence not only on the students but the adults in the community, to raise expectations, by showing what can be accomplished. That's where we're going to make a difference.

SPEAKER: In your life, you have been a role model for children, both on the playing field and academically, successful career. Which is easier? Which is easier to not sell in a cheapened sense but to say to children, this is what it's all about. This is what all that work is worth and when it pays off. Is it easier as a former football player, or is it easier as somebody who has had a successful career? Is that a difficult thing to go back and forth with?

ALAN PAGE: Well, for me, it's difficult to separate the two. They come together hand in hand. One makes the other easier to sell I think. The football background is an attention mechanism which will get people to listen to me. The second part of the equation is having something to say that young people will listen to. And it makes for a very effective combination because I can talk about my athletic career in the context of being successful, in the context of what it takes to be successful.

I can talk about my legal career in the context of what it takes to be successful, what steps you have to take. And how the two really are the same. Preparing oneself in the classroom or on the practice field. Doing the homework that comes with both. Asking questions when you don't know the answers. Giving information when you do. All of those things, whether they be on the athletic field or in the classroom, are what makes one successful. That and the willingness to work.

SPEAKER: How much of your goal is not just saying continue your education, but giving the students and maybe ultimately their families, their parents a longer vision of goals and achieving those goals, bringing the parents into that?

ALAN PAGE: There is a triangle, if you will, that plays an important role in the success of children. It's parents, it's the child, and it's the child's teacher. And bringing those three groups together. And getting them to think about the future but in the context of how do I get there? What is it that I want to do?

And not that you have to have specific goals. You know, I'm going to grow up and be a lawyer. But maybe one day I'd like to be a lawyer. What do I have to do to put myself in the position to get there? And who's involved in that process? What do I have to do today, and who's involved today that will allow me to have the choice once the time comes?

Because really I guess what we're talking about is keeping options open. There are a lot of choices that people make when they're young which limit their choices in the future. And ideally, having our scholarship recipients back in the community will increase that sense that there are positive choices down the road, positive things I can do and be down the road, but also increase that sense of, well, if so-and-so did it, and they did it by doing A, B, and C, maybe if I do A, B, and C, I can do it.

SPEAKER: What's the biggest payback to you for this? Looks on faces? Changes in young people's attitude about themselves? I mean, have you been doing this long enough to really see that?

ALAN PAGE: We haven't been doing it long enough to see the impact on the real target audience, which is the elementary school kids and junior high school kids. But certainly, what our scholarship recipients who have been in the program for two or three years now have to say about what they've done, and what they've experienced, and how that has impacted them certainly makes it worthwhile.

There are just some really neat stories out there of young people who have become involved in their community having an impact on someone that they have worked with. And that's what it's all about, is having that impact. And to see these young men and women two, three years down the road and articulating their experiences. It makes it worthwhile.