Remix: How NewSchools’ Frances Messano Became a Provider of Dream Capital

I grew up in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

So for me, growing up, it was a strange place 'cause we did have this, like, really iconic set of places nearby, and yet the neighborhood itself was actually very much a working class, low-income neighborhood.

And there was then this gated community called Sea Gate, and I happened to live two blocks away from Sea Gate.

And so I felt like the community of Coney Island was sending me all kinds of messages, and those messages were, "You grew up on the wrong side of that gated community.

You grew up on the wrong side of that fence," right? There wasn't a ton of, like, careers and, and educational opportunities right in Coney Island.

And so what I found was that at home, my parents had to create this environment that fortified me and my sister, right? The whole reason why we moved to Coney Island was because there was HUD housing available.

My parents could actually afford to buy a house with a patch of grass and live in a community, and they really wanted that for us.

My dad worked at UPS for thirty-five years.

He was a box sorter.

He literally took a box on a conveyor belt and said, "It's going to the West Coast.

It's going to the East Coast." But he kept his head down, and he kept at it for thirty-five years because that's what you do.

You work hard, and you support your family.

My mom came to this country.

She was undocumented in this country for seven years from Colombia.

You know, she worked in the garment industry, but she worked her way up.

She eventually became a paraprofessional and a teacher.

And so for us, education was the way to get access to opportunity.

It was the way out in some ways.

And so the messages that I heard was, "Study hard.

You stay focused on this path, and it's gonna pay off over time."

And when you are 10 years old, that opportunity shows up in a very distinct way.

Someone sort of discovers you, nominates you for this program, Prep for Prep, which I am very familiar with because you and I both went to Harvard.

My roommate from Harvard was a Prep for Prep kid.

It changes the course of your life.

It does change the course of your life, and one of the things that I'm constantly reflecting on, Alicia, is the fact that, like... like, the role that luck plays in our lives, and I don't think we talk about it enough 'cause we still have this, this focus on rugged individualism.

I grew up in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

So for me, growing up, it was a strange place 'cause we did have this, like, really iconic set of places nearby, and yet the neighborhood itself was actually very much a working class, low-income neighborhood.

And there was then this gated community called Sea Gate, and I happened to live two blocks away from Sea Gate.

And so I felt like the community of Coney Island was sending me all kinds of messages, and those messages were, "You grew up on the wrong side of that gated community.

You grew up on the wrong side of that fence," right? There wasn't a ton of, like, careers and, and educational opportunities right in Coney Island.

And so what I found was that at home, my parents had to create this environment that fortified me and my sister, right? The whole reason why we moved to Coney Island was because there was HUD housing available.

My parents could actually afford to buy a house with a patch of grass and live in a community, and they really wanted that for us.

My dad worked at UPS for thirty-five years.

He was a box sorter.

He literally took a box on a conveyor belt and said, "It's going to the West Coast.

It's going to the East Coast." But he kept his head down, and he kept at it for thirty-five years because that's what you do.

You work hard, and you support your family.

My mom came to this country.

She was undocumented in this country for seven years from Colombia.

You know, she worked in the garment industry, but she worked her way up.

She eventually became a paraprofessional and a teacher.

And so for us, education was the way to get access to opportunity.

It was the way out in some ways.

And so the messages that I heard was, "Study hard.

You stay focused on this path, and it's gonna pay off over time."

And when you are 10 years old, that opportunity shows up in a very distinct way.

Someone sort of discovers you, nominates you for this program, Prep for Prep, which I am very familiar with because you and I both went to Harvard.

My roommate from Harvard was a Prep for Prep kid.

It changes the course of your life.

It does change the course of your life, and one of the things that I'm constantly reflecting on, Alicia, is the fact that, like... like, the role that luck plays in our lives, and I don't think we talk about it enough 'cause we still have this, this focus on rugged individualism.