↗ Opening Doors for Others |
Kenny Hill ’ 90 has made a career |
out of helping people build things . |
The Warren College economics |
major worked at Home Depot |
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throughout his education , finishing
classes by afternoon to catch
the last shift ending at midnight .
During his junior year , he wrote
a letter detailing his ambitions
to the store ’ s co-founder and
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Photo : Amanda Greene |
CEO and thereupon was set on |
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a management track that would
bring him across the country to
Atlanta . But what Hill would build
there , however , would be the
biggest change he ' s ever made .
In the height of the 2009 housing
crisis , Hill and his wife noticed
a row of abandoned townhomes
falling into dangerous disrepair
near a neighborhood park bustling
with kids . They purchased the
homes one by one , and Hill used
his experience in renovation to
completely transform the building .
But when the properties were all
done and ready for market , Hill
saw the chance to transform the
lives of others .
“ What if what you did for this
building , you could do for people ’ s
lives ?” Hill asked .“ Totally renovate .”
The Hills turned their
townhomes into The Launchpad
Foundation , a program designed
to help individuals and families
experiencing homelessness get
back on their feet . In addition to
providing transitional housing ,
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Hill gathered a group of friends and colleagues to serve as coaches in all areas of life , from money management to goalsetting and nutrition . Together , the team created a program in order to get participants on the path to self-sufficiency and ultimately make way for a new group of residents to change their lives . Now on their second round of residents , Hill and The Launchpad Foundation aim to grow the program beyond their own properties and help Atlanta families at a greater scale .
Being a mentor means a lot to Hill and closes a circle in his life . It was a mentor who encouraged him to write his CEO a letter , the very same who also encouraged him to apply to UC San Diego all those years ago . “ He said to go to the best school I could get into — to do my best always . And I ' ve done that ever since .”
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Kenny Hill ’ 90 ( above ) set out to renovate townhomes but transformed lives as well . |
→ The Chief Historian A funny thing happens when
your city ’ s chief of police earns
a doctorate : you get a police
force versed in academic texts .
“ Anyone up for promotion gets a
required reading list ,” says David
Livingstone , PhD ’ 18 , police chief
for Simi Valley , California . “ I give
them books that take them out of
their comfort zone — Edward Said ’ s
Orientalism , for instance , which
explores how one perceives those
who are different from them .
That ’ s a critical thing for officers
to be aware of in their work .”
Talk about leaving a comfort
zone : Livingstone became a
graduate student at age 42 , while
working full-time as a commander
heading up his city ’ s SWAT units .
But his passion for history and
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