Aim High Cranbrook Kingswood

Holly Arida is an entrepreneur turned Cranbrook teacher, and now, a Director of a non-profit that is a talent pipeline for Detroit youth. Holly looks back at her 20 year storied career here at Cranbrook and her many partnerships at the school that led to exciting learning opportunities for teachers and students.

We will also hear from Jace Danielewicz CK'22 and Victor Berger CK'22, two co-founders of YouthTank Detroit, the social enterprise launched by Holly with students in her entrepreneurship classes to provide alternate career pathways for high school students in the city.

YouthTank is a startup incubator for high school student-led businesses in Detroit. In their after-school and summer programs, young entrepreneurs actually test their business ideas and flex career-ready skills though action-based learning. 

Aim High is a production of Cranbrook Kingswood School and is produced by University FM.

Selected Quotes:A question to ask yourself when thinking about entrepreneurial idea 24:11 - When thinking about the entrepreneurial idea you want to pursue, ask yourself, "What breaks your heart?" And what breaks my heart is when young people don't realize their potential. Because either, the system inequities, that goes for students with learning differences as well. A lot of different kind of inequities need an education built for them to succeed. And to have those opportunities to believe in themselves and stretch themselves. I think that's made a difference in anybody's life.
Clearing the way is a responsibility we all have. 25:11 - Clearing the way is a responsibility we all have. Every young person, I fervently believe, deserves an education that works for them. And it's been great working with Cranbrook students to see that happen.

On doing work that brings people together
16:02 - Cranbrook was built out of the ingenuity and wealth of the city in many ways. We were wanting to draw attention to that connection. I think a lot of my work was about bringing people together that might not be together.

On the intentions of Youth Tank
29:40 [Jace ‘22] Our intention is to supply students in Detroit and kids in general with the necessary skills to be entrepreneurs. So, what is seen as the average path for people in our area is middle school, high school, then college, then get a job. And that average path doesn't work for every kid, especially every kid in Detroit.

About The Guests:Holly Arida, Educator & Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Combining my entrepreneurial business career with my role as an educator, I've mentored thousands of students in real-world skills and leadership. Recently, I worked alongside industrious high school students to design of our new student-led business incubator: YouthTank.  

Our social enterprise operates at the nexus of community, business, innovation and education. We are grateful for the warm welcome we received in the city of Detroit. YouthTank is proud to partner with people and organizations who share our belief that the next generation are ready create, lead, and contribute to society, NOW. I am happiest when I am working with kids in my hometown of Detroit.  

Jace Danielewicz
Jace graduated from Cranbrook in 2022. He is currently at the College of Creative Studies, studying transportation design.

Victor Berger
Victor graduated from Cranbrook in 2022. He is a Business Major at the Miami University of Ohio. 

Working in a family business can be challenging. But when both your parents are entrepreneurs, its kind of inevitable. Jason Eddleston, business runs through the family. 

Jason was a state championship lacrosse player and Cranbrook lifer, and he is now the VP of Operations at the company his parents started in the 1970s Sterling Oil. He is also the current owner of Ray's Ice Cream in Royal Oak, Michigan, a staple in the community since 1958.

With host Robert Li, Jason talks about balancing work & life in a family business, how he got into world of ice cream, and how he manages these two very different companies. 

Aim High is a production of Cranbrook Kingswood School and is produced by University FM.

Selected Quotes:Ray’s Ice Cream is a community-based business19:13 - What I've learned a lot about Ray's business is that people, especially non-perishable vendors, are taking advantage of the business. And I wanted to bring my own team of people that I could depend upon. And would realize that this is a community-based business, and if you're working with us as a vendor, a contractor, or a supplier, then you need to understand that we're here for the community.
What keeps Jason going16:57 - I enjoy the amount of knowledge that I consistently absorb on a day-to-day basis that helps me in running my businesses and helps me make the proper decisions to make sure those businesses are being run accordingly.

Taking lessons from Jason family’s business
29:04 - I realized that when you run a company, you have to work based upon the skills and strengths, and weaknesses of your employees or the other individuals in the organization on the same level. And going about trying to change how people work and do business sometimes can be very counterproductive to the whole. To this day, we work very well together, but we still don't always agree.

How do you know if you’re winning in business
18:08 - When it comes to the business world, winning is very subjective, but I feel like when you're taking something and expanding upon it and you're getting a lot of positive feedback from employees and from customers in the community, then I think you realize that you are winning and you are doing something very successful.

Reach Him At:Jason Eddleston on LinkedInSterling OilRay's Ice Cream

Debbie Calfin recently retired after spending 37 years teaching a range of grades at Cranbrook Brookside, with most of them spent teaching 2nd grade. 

Host Qadir Muhammad sits down with Debbie as she reflects on her career and time at Cranbrook: teaching elementary school through COVID, cultivating a classroom environment that stimulates growth, Grandparent’s Day, and shares some advice for the next generation of teachers. 

Aim High is a production of Cranbrook Kingswood School and is produced by University FM.

EPISODE QUOTES:
Demonstrating passion in teaching
11:47 - I think that I, as a teacher, had to demonstrate my passion for whatever we were doing. My investment in it, I had to be interested in it, whatever it would be, and bring them into it as well. And the other piece for my classrooms is always is the ability to know that they don't have to know everything right away.

The impact of teaching to the children
17:34 - Teaching may look easy, but it's not. But it's the best job you could have. To be able to spend time with children knowing that you are making a difference in their lives is huge.

One of the magical things about Cranbrook Brookside
27:07 - One of the other things that I love about Cranbrook Brookside is the yearly chapels and the plays that each grade level puts on. Because I've seen it myself where children that are very shy and not really confident start in the first grade, and by the fifth grade, they're often one of the leads of the play. And it carries over to their confidence in front of a group, you know, working collaboratively to put on the production doing the music. The fine arts teachers, especially the music and drama teachers, were just extraordinary in that way.

Give value first and lead with gratitude, always. That has been Arsh Shah’s motto when it comes to his adventurous career path.

So it's no surprise that Arsh has accomplished a lot since his Cranbrook graduation. In the last 11 years, he has already founded three companies, spanning the entertainment, entrepreneurship & tech industries (GlassLink, The Cr8 Group, /Six).

Arsh takes some time out of his hectic schedule to chat with host Robert Li about getting into the world of NFTs and blockchains, all of the sports and activities he was a part of here at Cranbrook, and we learn a bit more about the companies Arsh has started. 

Aim High is a production of Cranbrook Kingswood School and is produced by University FM. 
Reach Him At:LinkedInarsh@glasslink.ioGlassLinkThe Cr8 Group/Six
Selected Quotes:On finding value in other people’s success03:47 - Being outspoken has actually created humility because I've realized how fortunate I've been to have Cranbrook, one as a founding base, and two, like all of the academic and professional experiences that I've built, if there's anything I've learned from being able to lead teams, lead companies, and get into ventures, it's all about people, right? And I've put myself last. I've put myself last before teams. I've put myself last before peers because I think where I really find value is seeing other people succeed.

Scalability vs. Impact16:33 - It's not about scalability. I would rather have an impact across a very small community and do something phenomenal for very few people that have less of an impact across a larger community.

Being selfless creates growth
27:29 - To me, being able to instill that potential in someone that doesn't see it in themselves yet, is really how I'm going to help. We do that with GlassLink™️. We do that for potential clients. And now I'm doing it for somebody that I'm mentoring. And so aiming high to me is, yes, one innovation, professional success. Hopefully, at some point, financial success. But being selfless, because that's what creates growth. That's what inspires people. And ultimately, that's what creates happiness.

Dr. Elizabeth Ryan is a sophomore history teacher at Cranbrook, and former Head House advisor for eight years.

Dr. Ryan was actually host Qadir Muhammad’s history teacher when he was a student! She sits down with him today to catch up and chat about her fav classes to teach, her class project on the history of feminism at Cranbrook, her journey to a teaching career, as well as teaching through Covid and getting kids caught up after those strange, virtual years.

Aim High is a production of Cranbrook Kingswood School and is produced by University FM.

About The Guest:Feminist Thought Class Goes Back in Time
Selected Quotes:School is about content and skills18:14 - Some people really like to be lectured to and told information. Other people find that boring, right? Some people like the videos; some people don't like group work. One of the keys to me is to try and figure out for each student what they seem to like, what they seem to gravitate towards, and mix things up. I try to mix things up throughout the year, so we're not always doing the same thing. And I try not to give work that is superfluous. If I tell those students, if I'm giving you some homework, it's because I think you need it for either the content or the skill, right? Because that's really what school is about: content and skills.
32:05 - It's okay to fail. It's okay to do it wrong the first time to learn how to do it. You don't have to be perfect, but you certainly don't have to be perfect the first time you learn something.

Teaching is more than just grading papers
30:56 - Any teacher who loves teaching—that's what they'll tell you, right? It's not grading papers. I like lesson planning, but it's not lesson planning. You know, it's seeing your students do interesting things and become the people they are meant to be.

Developing your aesthetic judgment by asking the right questions
05:55 - The students are interested in things they can see around them, like impacting them at school, and sports tend to be one that most students have encountered. Something to do with gender and sports—I hear all kinds of interesting, weird things from these kids, but it's stuff that they experienced.

Daniel Jefferson is the founder of Black Brook roughly 19 years ago, which continues to function as Cranbrook's answer to a black alumni association He also served as a former Cranbrook African-American Awareness Association President.

Now a days, Daniel lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is an IT director at Charter Communications, specializing in database management. He also runs an entertainment business called Got Jokes.

He sits down with host Robert Li to talk about finding his place at Cranbrook, their shared experiences of finding and exploring identity on campus, and how Daniel learned to advocate for himself and others. 


Aim High is a production of Cranbrook Kingswood School and is produced by University FM.

About The Guest:Daniel Jefferson is the founder of Black Brook roughly 19 years ago, which continues to function as Cranbrook's answer to a black alumni association He also served as a former Cranbrook African-American Awareness Association President.

Nowadays, Daniel lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is an IT director at Charter Communications, specializing in database management. He also runs an entertainment business called Got Jokes.

Reach Him At:motownpride@gmail.com

Selected Quotes:On learning to appreciate differences rather than trying to act like they don't exist
11:49 - When I talk about my Cranbrook experience, it evolved over time. You know, it was innocence, then anger, then some empathy, where I started to get better at understanding a little bit more of where we come to the middle, and my junior and senior years were probably the biggest for me because, living in the dorms, I eventually became head RA. I had conversations with people from all over the world; (12:34) I did a lot of listening, and then I realized the commonalities, and then my anger started to subside a bit. And then, it became more about understanding that there is power in being able to figure out what connects us, and even then, I had a stronger feeling of where diversity fits. Because it's not about saying that people are different, it's more so about appreciating differences than trying to act like they don't exist.

Opening Cranbrook’s door to more people of color27:25 - One of the things that became very important to me, especially when talking to other students, and one of the reasons why I started Black Brook, is I wanted people of color who went through Cranbrook's door to feel like they had citizen ownership and that this was their place.

From uncertainties to building an effective community
29:05 - Building an effective community is to make sure that everybody has a voice. Under no situations, I felt like I didn't have control. I think the reason why I haven't done much after that is for those particular, is because they don't control me anymore. They don't defy me. There is something that I took, and I use it as power, and I use it to help people. So the outcome is great.