Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is much more than an athlete. He is a social change advocate striving to reform education in America. This past June, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab selected the 22-year-old former California Golden Bears standout to be one of its 2019 Director’s Fellows, along with other innovators who will bring their unique insights, perspectives and ideas to address society’s biggest challenges.
As one of approximately 70 fellows in MIT Media Lab’s global network, Brown’s focus is on education. He aims to enhance the academic experience by bringing MIT Media Lab resources to approximately 10 students from underserved Boston communities and introducing them to nontraditional methods of learning.
“The goal is to build a scholastic bridge connecting from higher university to our low-income community, reconstructing our education system one step at a time,” Brown said.
A firm believer that standardized testing does not adequately measure students’ capability to succeed, Brown plans to create technology-based learning opportunities where Boston students can communicate with other students across the country and around the world. By forming global learning networks among students, Brown wants to make education cool.
An outspoken advocate for innovative approaches to education, Brown has become a regular at tech industry events, including MIT Media Lab’s “MLTalks: Hoops, Tech, and Justice” event in October 2018. He also was a featured speaker at Askwith Forum at Harvard Graduate School of Education in March 2018, where he discussed education reform, systematic inequality and how athletes can use their platforms to promote positive social change. In addition, Brown organized a “Tech Hustle” technology networking event in Los Angeles during NBA All-Star Weekend in 2018.
As an MIT Media Lab Director’s Fellow, Brown continues to use his platform to support social and educational reforms and make a positive difference in the lives of underserved youth in Boston and around the world.
A version of this post was previously published on thesportofphilanthropy.com and is republished here with permission from the author.
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