WAY TO GO JONATHAN HOWARD!

When Yates High School Alumnus Jonathan Howard comes home on extended breaks from Atlanta’s Morehouse College, you can find him at Ryan Middle School and Yates encouraging students to succeed in school and go on to college. On his next visit, he’ll have a new accomplishment to share with the students. Howard was just elected president of his senior class.

          While in high school, Howard played on the Yates Football Team but his scholarship to Morehouse is not based on sports. It is based on academics. That’s an important point that he makes to students as he gives them advice on how to succeed in school.

          Howard tells students, “When I was playing football at Yates, there was a sign that hung over the door to our locker room that few paid attention to. By my senior year, I began to realize just how important the words were. The sign said, “The reason most people fail is because they put off what they want most for what they want right now.” Howard goes on to tell students, “Don’t say what I want most is to be a businessman but right now I want to let my pants sag, skip class, fight and talk any kind of way because that’s not how real businessmen behave. You have to act and think like what you want to become.”

          While in college, Jonathan has served as a mentor at an elementary school in Atlanta. During his summer break he is a business intern at Texas Children’s Hospital. This year he’ll be working with senior executives on the hospital’s capital campaign and expansion projects.  After graduating from Morehouse next year, he plans to attend graduate school and earn a Master’s degree combined with a law degree.  He plans a career in health management and administration.