I never know where life is going to lead me - but what I’ve learned over the past few years is that it’s very wise to answer what Joseph Campbell calls - “The Warrior’s Call”.

“The warrior’s approach to life is to say ‘yes’ to it, ‘yea’ to it all”.

Recently I put on my first “real” conference - Got Social Media?™ here in Houston, Texas. One of the sponsors of that event was a woman named Christine Hollinden - who runs Hollinden Professional Services Marketing. In fact - Christine stepped in at the last minute to be one our Platinum Sponsors. I was originally introduced to Christine by Marc Nathan from the Houston Technology Center who recommended we have lunch. At that first lunch - Christine and I ended up talking for nearly 3 hours. We talked about Marketing, Social Media, Technology, Our Respective Backgrounds - and Chinquapin. I had never heard of Chinquapin - and yet it was over Chinquapin that we bonded.

Christine told me that Chinquapin was a “private school” - a kind of college preparatory where ALL the students attend on scholarships. But — and here’s the really remarkable part — they all come from underprivileged homes (many living below the poverty line), some living in homes filled with abuse…but each year for 20 years - 100% of the Chinquapin graduating seniors have been accepted to college. That’s right - 100%!!!

Today Dayna Marcum and I had the opportunity to tour the Chinquapin school - and let me tell you - everything about this place is amazing. When I first arrived on campus (running late of course) I was standing in the quad area - reading all the names on the buildings and trying to figure out where the office was. Imagine my surprise when one of the students walked right up to me and asked: “Can I help You Find Something?”. Relieved - I quickly said “Yes, I’m looking for the office.” - she replied…”I’d be happy to walk you there - my name is Carmen and I’m a senior here at Chinquapin”. I’ve been on a lot of High School and College Campuses - and this was definitely out of the norm.

And as we walked across the campus - students everywhere said hello - some even stopping to shake my hand and welcome me to their school. I knew I’d wandered onto something special.

Kathy Heinzerling and her husband are co-directors at Chinquapin - and have been for many years. What they have created is real “Community” - a place where students and teachers treat one another with respect and even love. All the students address the teachers by their first names - and most of the teachers live on Campus. There is a boys dormitory where 7th-12th grade students are boarded 5 days a week - with the girls living off campus.

The only requirements for attending Chinquapin are high academic marks, a willingness to work hard, and a desire to be an active part of the Chinquapin community. Additionally - all the students must come from low-income households and pass a plethora of standardized tests.

When Dayna arrived - we all headed off on a tour of the campus. One of the things that impressed me most - was that each of the 7th grade students had their own garden to tend - filled with things like cabbage, strawberries, and brussel sprouts. And after lunch - all of the students had assigned chores - and they were excited to do them.

Over lunch, Sarah, one of the students talked about her new found passion for photography - and Kathy told me the history of several of the students. I have to admit - my eyes teared up more than once hearing their stories. Chinquapin is making a difference - and I’m excited to say that we are going to share more of their stories with you here. I think there is a lot we can all learn from the remarkable community they have created - and maybe together - we can help them make an even bigger difference on the world.

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