Rasaun Brown describes hectic, ‘fantastic’ senior year
Last fall, Rasaun Brown took on a swollen schedule that made his senior year at Woodland Hills High School race by in a blur. Boxing. Clothes design. Auto mechanic training. Hanging out with friends — they’re “family,” he said.
What started as a range of openended possibilities in his last year of high school became a trove of poignant memories for the soft-spoken, style-savvy teen. He described it in one word: “fantastic.”
“I loved my senior year,” Rasaun said. “Some of the best things happened this school year. The greatest things. I wouldn’t ask for anything more, anything less.”
At the homecoming dance last September, he sported sunglasses, a black bow tie and a slick tigerstriped jacket in black and cerulean blue — a nod to the school colors. He landed a spot on the homecoming court, one most memorable moments of his adolescence, validation that he was “one of the leaders of the school,” he said.
In the afternoons and evenings, Rasaun shone as a local amateur boxer, quick with his hands, loaded with stamina and sharp with his right hook. He flashed enough potential — including a championship knockout in November — that he wants a shot at the next level, to figure out if his hands can punch professionally.
He has put other dreams on hold, though, at least for now. “Cash Flow Clothing,” the fashion brand he founded his freshman year through his work at the Braddock Youth Project, took a back seat in December after his schedule proved too busy to keep up with filling orders and churning out new designs. It’s just dormant, not dead, he said.
“Next December,” Rasaun said, “I’m going to come back with more designs, more models, more shoots, more collaborative stuff with Cash Flow. I’m coming harder than ever.”
He acknowledged that part of the setback stemmed from a bout of senioritis, the teenage endemic that afflicts countless students who sense the end of school is near.
Repairing cars is the road map for now. In August, Rasaun plans to start a 16-month automotive training program at Rosedale Technical College, a continuation of his work at the Forbes Road Career and Technology Center in Monroeville, where he trained several hours each school day. He’s handy with tools, just like his dad.
To help pay for it, Rasaun last month received a scholarship named in honor of Jerame Turner, a former classmate, who was killed in 2017.
This summer, he plans to work with kids at summer camp hosted at the Nyia Page Community Center in Braddock. He is set to lead a group called the “Fashion Design Team” and already has a project in mind, one that involves the artistic chops he picked up there when he was a kid like them.
“Our objective is to make a complete collage design, based on what they most like about Braddock,” he said. “It can be anything, but the concept is Braddock.”
This month, Rasaun and his classmates walked across the stage at graduation, diploma in hand. He beamed with pride, excited for what the future holds.
“It feels good to be a Woodland Hills alumni,” he said.