What made Rickie James the first in his family to go to college? During high school, he realized his siblings left high school and went to work – sometimes out of necessity. Rickie grew up in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and went to Fort Hamilton High School where they stressed going to college. He went to NY Technical College because it was the only college in the state that had the course he wanted - The Technology of Architecture. He wanted to learn how to take apart things and put them back together again. He now works for an associate architectural planner for NY. His family supported him without fully understanding his need for college. Rickie told his professor that no one in his family would attend graduation because no one explained the significance of having college graduation or the importance of education in his field. He decided he would not attend graduation. His professor singled him out and called attention to him in the hallway, then handed him his degree in front of everyone – that gesture gave him the feeling of getting an accolade. He looked up to his uncle and aunts who took him to work to expose him to other professions. His aunt gave him a rapidograph—an architectural pen—and a portfolio as graduation gifts. He cherished them for years and called the pen his “sword” and the portfolio his “shield.” Today, his nephews and nieces followed his lead and took it for granted that a college degree was a must.
