Major (Ret.) E. Sean Lanier, Founder & Executive Director, Resolve Solutions Incorporated (RSI)
An Ecosystem for Student Success W hen children grow up and dream about their futures, they do not really consider the challenges and obstacles they may face. It is not until they are adults that they begin to realize their goals may not be as easily attained as they thought. Realizing this, and wanting to encourage success for young adults, I created Resolve Solutions Incorporated (RSI), an organization that provides underrepresented students educational, financial, and college/career preparation support. The namesake “resolve” stems from my roots and upbringing. My grandparents, determined to be a part of societal change, were a part of the civil rights movement. I was a part of a patriotic family that felt it a rite of passage, so to speak, for male members to serve in the military. Even I, as a 2-year-old, seemed resolute in my desire to join the armed forces after attending my first airshow. It made me want to be a pilot, and the military was the only viable pathway to get the necessary flight training. Resolve has been a primary catalyst in filling in the gap of service, which I think is, or should be, important to African Americans. Along with the mission of service, I created RSI to address the misnomer of “a limited amount of Black talent” stated by many military leaders and corporate CEOs. As a supply chain expert, there was a numbers aspect that did not add up or make sense to me. If you have a population of 330 million, and 26 million of those are African-Americans, there really should not be a question of talent shortage. RSI aims to create a pool of selected, trained, and qualified AfricanAmerican professionals ready for the workforce. How do I address these issues through RSI? Our strategy begins with mentoring partnerships and identifying candidates qualified to receive ROTC scholarships. They are the secret sauce to the program. Most of our mentors are former military members, as well as alumni of various schools. Others are former and current industry professionals who simply volunteer their time and talents. I try to
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seek out veterans who have served, have a passion for helping young people, and have a desire to help restore the next generation of leaders. I also work to recruit people who may have made some mistakes in their careers and are willing to share those mistakes in hopes that young students will learn from them. There are many people who are not willing to share those experiences at first, who end up bringing valuable life lessons to the conversation with our young people. It is critically important that we expose young students to the positive and negative decisions they may face.
All these things ultimately boil down to considering elements of relationship and success. I want to get students to look at their journey from a holistic perspective, and that can be daunting. That is where RSI mentors come in to converse and work with them as trusted advisors.
At RSI, it is vital that we find mentors who understand the value of investing their time in young people. Most children do not have an adult in their lives for more than a certain period. Once they turn 18, their parents are no longer “guardians.” Even in the military, leaders that come in may be there for one or two years max before there is turnover. Throughout
that entire pipeline, there really is not someone there as a consistent anchor in those young people’s lives. Students really need to have continuity. They must have some type of stabilizing force or someone who can help them see things around the corner and have necessary conversations they might not have considered. The issue is not that young people are not smart; the concern is about them being able to see and prepare for what is coming ahead, and that’s how mentors help to support them. Once we partner students with mentors at RSI, we work together to develop long-term career plans. If you attend one of BEYA’s Stars & Stripes events and look at the careers of noted generals and admirals, you are looking at a 35-plusyear career plan in the flesh. Considering three years of middle school, four years in high school, and four to five years in college, that’s 11 to 12 years of the plan that most students consider. Because most of the young people we serve are first-generation college students, that is just about as far as they think. But say a student considers a career in the military and starts as an O-1 lieutenant/ensign; they have another 20–25 years before they become an O-6 colonel/captain. Who will consistently be there for these young adults during these 10–20 years of their lives? Their RSI mentors will, and that’s why mentorship is such a vital part of our program. RSI also emphasizes professional networking for students. When students enter college, they do not typically have a stable base of contacts to help guide them. Networking is important because young people conceptually have an idea of what they want to do and be as adult professionals. However, building strong networks enables them to get more insight to make informed decisions. The hope is they will then become advocates for RSI by reaching out to their peers. We know peer-to-peer coaching is the toughest form of leadership. But if students have their mentors who help and teach them how to network, that can help close the gap. It is easy for me to talk about RSI, but when we get other
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