Be Modern Man

It's Our Normal To Be Extraordinary

- Daron Pressley

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW YOU TURNED STRUGGLE INTO SUCCESS?

When I was in my residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, I was frustrated and struggled with seeing young men of color coming in as victims of violence. This frustration continued while working in the emergency department at Kings County-SUNY Downstate Hospital in Brooklyn. I remembered seeing a T-shirt when I was a student at More house that said, “Lead, follow, or get out of my way.” Eventually, I gathered a team of friends and colleagues, and we developed a hospital-, school-, and community-based violence intervention and prevention program to deal with and change the scope of violence in our communities. Our program has been effective at helping prevent violence, victim and survivor retaliation after being injured, as well as playing a pivotal role at increasing mentoring and educational opportunities for the students in our school and community programs. Instead of struggling and being frustrated with what we saw, we made a conscious decision to lead.

WHAT ARE SOME IMMEDIATE PROJECTS YOU ARE WORKING ON?