Where Are They Now? An Opportunity Rising Scholar Makes Good on His Teaching Mission

Education is the stepping stone to growth, advancement, and success.

For over 30 years, the Opportunity Rising Foundation has invested in the students of DHA’s Public Housing communities and Housing Choice Voucher program families, providing 1,341 students with over $1.9 million in scholarships.

Ontario Brown is one of those students. More than nine years ago, he stepped onto the campus of Texas Christian University (TCU), his dream school, where he was offered endless opportunities – something he never realized was possible when he was a child.

When Ontario was young, he lost his father, and for him, navigating his sense of self as a Black boy and later, a man, was challenging. Ontario attributes much of his success to the resilience of his mother and the support she provided. He also credits Nakia Douglas, the founding principal of the Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy (BOMLA), “[Dr. Douglas and BOMLA] gave me direction and a sense of purpose and understanding in life. [He saw] my potential and that I was someone who wanted to be successful, but that I didn’t know how to get there.” 

Ontario also thanks DHA for its housing, educational, and supportive services and resources. He shares that these essential resources made such a significant impact on him. “[DHA allowed] me to go to college and pursue dreams that were just not possible where I came from. I was able to really find myself and figure out who I wanted to be and how I could step into my passion outside of college.” Ontario created a legacy at TCU, becoming the first African-American vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA) at TCU, an experience and monument made possible in part due to financial and experiential support from the foundation via scholarships and an internship. “This was something so profound for my family and me,” shared Ontario. 

As he shared with us before, Ontario knew that he wanted to be an educator, going back to serve the community he grew up in, by providing not only algebra lessons but also reaching beyond academics, teaching students lessons to help prepare them for life. 

A man of his word, Ontario Brown, is a recognized and award-winning Dallas ISD educator who, for the past five years, has invested his time and talent serving the ninth-grade students of Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr. High School as an algebra teacher and chess and gaming coach. “My mission is not just to teach them how to solve equations, but to give them life lessons and skills. I want to have the same impact on them as the people who believed in me had on me,” shared Ontario.

Mentorship is critical for the personal and professional growth of students. Ontario shares this sentiment with his philosophy on mentoring:

“For me, being a mentor is like being a mirror. The ability to reflect back to someone the greatness that they have in themselves, that they may not be able to see, is a necessary component of mentorship. To give them the mentality that ‘I can and I will, and that my dream is possible. I can obtain the goals that I have set for myself.’ That’s the essence of mentorship.”

Things are turning full circle for Ontario as he’s returning to BOMLA, once a young boy in search of direction, now an established and successful educator working to provide career and life direction for students:

“Graduating from a campus that took me from a lost boy to a young man, to be able to come back to Dallas, the community that raised me, but to go back to the school that showed me what being a man truly is, that means the world to me.” 

Ontario would like to leave one piece of advice for DHA students: “Eventually, your hard work, your restless nights, everything that you put into trying to be successful for yourself and those around you, it’ll pay off. 

You’re going to impact this world in ways you never could imagine.”

This is the guarantee of education, to impact generations to come. DHA and the Opportunity Rising Foundation are grateful to have an impact on the kids in our communities and help build the next generation of leaders.

Take a look at where Ontario started.