Rich kids work hard. Most black kids aren't working hard enough.

There is something exciting about being in an environment in which it's really cool to be smart.

It is part of the work of education to have substantive relationships with your students.

I began to understand the challenges that first-generation college students and students of color have in college.

I wanted to find ways for colleges and universities to become involved with public schools to help young people prepare for college.

My mother was an English teacher who decided to become a math teacher, and she used me as a guinea pig at home. My father had been a math teacher and then went to work at a steel mill because, frankly, he could make more money doing that.

Most people don't realize that it's not just minorities who don't do well in science and engineering - quite frankly, you're talking about Americans.