Career success dependent on life choices, not race

I applaud the efforts of Aaron Gordon and others who work to open windows of opportunity for students from minority and lowincome communities. (“Orlando Magic’s Aaron Gordon launches computer coding program for school kids,” Dec.13) However, I cringed when I read his opinion that “There are too many white guys in tech.” He seems to think that Silicon Valley employees got their jobs because of their skin color or because they came from privileged, white families where tech was more readily available.

I happen to know two white millennial men currently working in San Jose who each came from divorced homes, which struggled financially. Both men worked super hard in high school to obtain fullride college scholarships out of necessity.

One was on a crew team for an Ivy League school, balancing stiff academic demands of an engineering degree with the rigors of sports and travel.

The other young man pinched pennies, and made a point to hang out with families who could offer support and advice that was missing in his home. He also took advantage of dual admission to college in high school, which saved him college tuition expenses. He recently spent months studying for a difficult interview with Google, where he now works.

I can assure you that neither one of them coasted into their current position as a result of their skin color or privilege. They both worked hard in difficult academic fields of engineering and computer science. Each faced challenges, disappointment and rejection throughout their individual journeys that had nothing to do with their skin color.

Where I think individuals like Gordon and other prominent minorities miss an important opportunity, is to reach out to preteens to teach them the basic life “success sequence,” which is to: 1. graduate from high school, 2. get a full-time job, and 3. wait until you are at least 21 and married to have children (in this order). President Barack and Michelle Obama’s family was a great example of these series of life choices. Sadly, they missed a wonderful opportunity to talk openly and honestly about these significant life choices that statistics show have a 74 percent chance of making you a member of the middle class, according to the Brookings Institution. Violating all three of these norms gave individuals a 76 percent chance of winding up in poverty, and only a 7 percent chance of winding up in the middle class.

These concepts apply to all races, genders and socio-economic groups. In American society, we need to look beyond skin color to solve many of our social shortcomings and take responsibility for our own choices. If we teach these concepts to kids in at-risk communities, we can open a door to the path which can lead them to the ladder of success, which is open to everyone in our country who is willing to work hard and persevere.