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Dr. Brian Mells knows what the impact of education can be for young people, and oftentimes, the availability of having opportunities can drastically change how they shape their futures.
Dr. Mells has been working in the Metro Nashville school district for 17 years. After graduating from the University of Tennessee with a degree in mathematics in 2006, he began working as a math teacher at Hillwood High School. Since then, he’s quickly moved up the ladder and has found his home at Whites Creek, where he has been serving as the principal for three years.
“I always wanted to be a principal eventually,” he said. “I just didn’t think it would happen so fast.”
Last Fall, the school entered a formal agreement with Nashville State to bring these impactful educational opportunities to students. The Early College program came out of the Metro Schools “re-imagine” initiative and is supported by a $300,000 grant Nashville State received from the PNC Foundation as part of PNC's efforts to support Black Americans and low-income communities.
With less than 30% of their students going on to enroll in postsecondary institutions after high school, according to state data, Mells said the program will help build a “college-going culture.” Beginning as freshmen, students will be provided with mentorships and workshops that help build skills such as financial literacy and independence to set them up for success after high school. At the end of their high school career, students will graduate with both a high school diploma and an associates degree, putting them two years ahead of other college-bound seniors.
As one of only two programs of its kind in the area, the early college program is changing the game for students and providing a unique opportunity for them to take charge of their education. Mells said of the two schools that have implemented the program, Whites Creek is the only zoned school, meaning it’s open to all the students whose addresses are assigned to attend the school.
“I’ve seen tremendous changes in our students’ attitudes about starting college. They’re excited about taking these college courses and being challenged, it's a lot of work but they’re running with it,” said Mells.
As his students’ champion and a strong advocate for higher education, when plans for a partnership between the school and Nashville State were announced, Mells was all for it.
“I tell students all the time, the likelihood of you graduating on time is dependent on being connected to something at your school, whether that be a club, academics, or sports, ” he said.
As a former baseball coach, he's ecstatic to have an MLB team here, both for him to watch and to represent the endless opportunities he wants his students to have.
“I think having a team here would make a huge impact in our community. I think we’ll see more opportunities for jobs, for revenue, taxes and things that can provide more funds back to schools to be able to do more things for students and not be limited,” he said.
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After eight years of working hard on the railroads, Franky Cardona decided that it was time to take a leap of faith.
“I would wake up, and I would just be like a man. All I could think about was art, I was no longer happy at my job just because I knew this is what I wanted to do,” said Cardona.
In 2018, Cardona, a self-taught artist from Houston,Texas, decided to leave his full time job on the rails to pursue his dreams of becoming an artist. Since then, he’s done work for major athletes, teams, and music entertainers including the Astros and the Nashville Stars' very own Darius Rucker Topps card.
“Every kid has baseball cards, every kid collects basketball, football cards, you know,” he said. “I was like this is insane, my art on a Topps baseball card, it’s crazy. I called my mom and said, 'I made it.'”
After stepping away from his lifelong passion as a young adult, it was social media that inspired him to get back in the game. Seeing other artists upload their work to platforms like Instagram sparked his competitive spirit. Cardona began to upload his own art as well, which quickly caught fire in the online community. As with any new adventure, Cardona said there have been lots of learning experiences along the way but is nonetheless grateful for the opportunity to do the thing he loves most.
“Since I turned it into a business, sometimes it does feel like work, but I look back, and I’m like would you rather be putting in ties and rails or would you rather be painting?” he said.
Inspired by the raw emotion and intensity that can be seen through sports, Cardona began painting portraits of athletes, such as Andre Johnson from the Texans. The feelings channeled into the painting from his brush have made these portraits some of his most well known masterpieces.
“I think that’s why I continue to do it, because it’s going from nothing to I guess some people say a masterpiece. So that feeling, it’s a good feeling” Cardona said.
Being able to hold his own Topps card in his hand, a tiny version of one of these masterpieces, brought on a surreal feeling for Cardona. As the grandchild of Mexican immigrants, he reflected on the significance that the card represented and the pride that flowed through him looking at it, a culmination of his own hard work and the work that his family did to make it possible.
“To think about my grandparents coming over here...that blows my mind. The fact that they put in work for the country, they didn’t take anything for free, they worked for everything they had,” he said. “Because of their hard work, I’m proud of my Spanish heritage.”
Honoring the hard work of the past and the melting pot of American culture is the reason why he is a fan of the Stars’ push for diverse ownership in the Major Leagues.
“I always tell people everybody’s built differently. Nobody’s the same. So having that diversity is huge because you get to see a little bit of everybody. I think that’s super about what you guys are doing,” said Cardona.
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LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR THE NASHVILLE STARS GOLF TOURNAMENT
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The Nashville Stars are hosting a golf tournament to support the Nashville Stars Youth Foundation and the Tennessee State Athletic Fund. Taking place on Friday, October 7 at the Ted Rhodes Golf Course, there will be lunch and a silent auction in the morning, golf in the afternoon, and a dinner reception and awards to follow in the evening.
THERE ARE STILL OPENINGS! If you’re interested in playing in or sponsoring the event, please reach out to Lauren Whatley at [email protected].
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NEGRO LEAGUES TO THE MAJOR LEAGUES
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Our new shirts from Obvious Shirts are available for purchase. Our partners at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City are seen here sporting our “Negro Leagues to the Major Leagues” design. To see our entire collection, please visit our merchandise page.
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We opened up the doors to the Stars office on September 14 for community members to meet and chat with Dave Stewart, who is leading our Diverse Equity Ownership Initiative. Thanks to everyone for the wonderful evening!
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SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL SYMPOSIUM
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The Sports Business Journal, in conjunction with its partner AXS, held their Sports Facilities & Franchises and Ticketing Symposium in Nashville last month. Dave Stewart was invited to be a featured speaker on September 14. He discussed our updated efforts to bring Major League Baseball to Nashville, and the importance of Black and minority ownership.
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Our team was proud to sponsor the Our Corner Fest, which took place October 1-2 in Nashville. The event supports Operation Stand Down and CreatiVets, which are two important organizations that help support veterans and their families.
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OLD TIMERS BASEBALL ASSOCIATION GOLF TOURNAMENT
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Music City Baseball was proud to sponsor the Nashville Old Timers Baseball Association’s 25th annual golf tournament on September 15. The funds raised help benefit numerous college scholarships for high school athletes around Middle Tennessee.
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