Empowering Communities of Color to Thrive

The Ignite Institute : CHANGE HAPPENS NOW!

On this episode, we sit down with Dr. Patrick Reyes, author of The Purpose Gap and Nobody Cries when We Die. As the Senior Director of Learning Design at The Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE), inspiring young people to explore their passion, purpose, and calling, Patrick oversees learning and resource development around vocational exploration, leadership, and innovation. He shares his personal story, professional journey, and how he wrote both of his books for communities of color to have a better understanding of why our dreams may not come to fruition as easily as others. We learn about the purpose gap that exists when people don't have access to the resources and opportunities to fulfill their purpose in life, and how the voices and spirits from our lives are the reason the gap closes for some and widens for others. He talks about his own upbringing in California's Central Valley, and how people like his abuela, Carmen, encouraged him to keep going through his academic career even when many within these institutions made him feel like he shouldn't. This episode is about the adversities many first-generation scholars of color experience in their journeys, and it reminds us all that we have the backing of our ancestors "carrying forward their spirit and fire of survival."

To get more content like this and learn more about ignite and PSR go to psr.edu.