"I'm not here to be a role model," said Mayor Ed Gainey. "I'm here to tell you about my life." This opening line of the Mayor's speech hushed the audience of students, resonating throughout the school's cafeteria, similar to how his story resonated with our students.
During yesterday's visit, Mayor Gainey began New Academy Charter School's lecture series with a powerful and frank story of his life, which was riddled with adversity and struggle. His parents were teen parents, unprepared to raise him at the time, almost leading to his adoption, had it not been for his grandmother who stepped in to raise him until his mom was ready to take over.
Growing up, his family had limited means and pushed him to go to school; however, the Mayor candidly admitted, "I was not a good student in high school. Growing up, no one taught me the importance of education."
Mayor Gainey continued on to college, as the first in his family. Again, the honesty was heard in his voice when he said, "I had no idea what college was about." He brought home a 1.8 grade point average returning home from a semester at college.
It was in the hurt and disappointment in his mom's voice that he finally realized a very powerful lesson, "You've got a choice in life: you can grow old or you can grow up. There's only two options," said Mayor Gainey.
That turning point got him to shift his mindset on learning and on life. He pursued his education with vigor and began down the path that led him to becoming the first African American to be elected Mayor of the City of Pittsburgh.
Mayor Gainey's story of his life circled back to his humble beginnings when he said, "You've got to fall in love with adversity. If you can get through adversity now, you can get through everything."
His determination and dedication as Mayor, sits proudly upon the shoulders of the adversity of his past: "If I didn't start out the way I started out, I couldn't handle the pressure of being mayor."
To Mayor Ed Gainey and his staff that joined us yesterday to start our lecture series, we are deeply grateful. Your message as well as the time and patience you had after the event to speak personally with and shake many of our students hands, really spoke to many of our students who are currently struggling with some of the same adversities you overcame.
What a great way to begin New Academy Charter's 2025-2026 Lecture Series! Be on the look out for our next guest speaker in October 
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