Andre is the product of the war on drugs, as his father has been incarcerated since he was born and his mother has struggled with addiction since before he was born. Because of this, Andre had to step up and provide for his younger brother financially. This reality pushed Andre to get more involved in his community. Andre currently sits on the District Attorney’s “Youth Aid Panel” which was created to help juveniles avoid getting a criminal record after they commit a crime. Andre’s grandmother passed away due to lack of access to healthcare and because of this Andre worked to connect elders to quality affordable healthcare. Education is instrumental in lifting folks out of poverty, this fact pushed Andre to become an educator. 

​