Photo Credit: Bleacher Report
Windy City Blues. The City of Chicago has been much maligned of late, mostly for its high murder rate but also (I suspect) for its loudly liberal mayor – Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel is a favorite target of conservatives. The per capita rate of murder in Chicago is high but far from the highest in the nation. That dishonor belongs to St Louis. Some find it easy to dismiss Chicago as a place of hopelessness, losing its population (true), in a state teetering on the verge of bankruptcy (maybe). I know a different Chicago. The City that Works. From Oak Street Beach to the Shedd Aquarium, from Rush Street to the Miracle Mile, Chicago is a fine American city full of fine Americans. Hell, the Cubs even won the World Series. But this is not the story of Chicago but of one remarkable Chicagoan, Quincy Patterson, who will soon be coming to The Old Dominion.
The City of Broad Shoulders. Quincy Patterson certainly has broad shoulders. At age 17 he’s 6’4” tall and weighs 230 pounds. He can reputedly throw a football almost 80 yards. All of this made him a four-star quarterback recruit wooed by colleges and universities across the nation. But he chose us, or more precisely, he chose Virginia Tech. So what? Good high school quarterbacks are not all that noteworthy and Virginia Tech has a long tradition of playing top tier college football. Why is this young man’s story worth telling? The answer: Four point four from an Academy school.
Four point four. That’s not his 40 yard dash time (although it might be close), it’s Quincy Patterson’s Grade Point Average (GPA) on a 4 point scale. He achieved that stratospheric GPA by taking a slew of AP courses at Eric Solorio Academy High School, a public high school located in the Gage Park area of Chicago. During one noteworthy semester of his junior year Quincy achieved the staggering GPA of 4.7. He also scored an impressive 680 on his math SAT. While I assume Mr. Patterson has aspirations to lead the Hokies to gridiron glory or to play in the NFL that’s not what he was talking about last February. He was talking about his passion for engineering, the major he will pursue at Virginia Tech.
I’d like to thank the academy. The Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) is a Chicago non-profit school management organization founded 17 years ago. It manages 32 public schools in Chicago including Quincy Patterson’s alma mater. Beyond educating fine young people like Mr. Patterson the AUSL also operates the Chicago Teacher Residency Program, a yearlong urban teacher-training program. The paid training program provides the teacher-to-be with preparation, a teacher’s license and a master’s degree. In return, the teacher commits to teach in one of the AUSL managed schools for at least four years. Since its inception over 850 teachers have graduated from the program.
Observations and Implications. First, Virginia Tech will probably be an even better football team over the next few years. Second, Virginia Tech should be congratulated for staying focused on academics and engineering along with football while recruiting Quincy Patterson. Patterson had a number of fine schools on his final list including UNC, NC State and Illinois. Patterson says it was the focus on engineering and academics that made the difference for him. Third, the public-private alliance that spawned the AUSL in Chicago bears further study for possible applicability in Virginia. A future column will deal with the details of that program along with commentary from supporters and critics.
Nobody’s perfect. In an interview with the Pilot Online Quincy Patterson said, “I went on a road trip and got to see Virginia and Virginia Tech in the one day.” Ugh! And he chose Tech?!? Quincy, Quincy, Quincy … transfers are always available. Mr Patterson, if you happen to read this drop me a line. I know a great place for an authentic Chicago dog, let’s talk about Virginia universities! Until then, welcome and good luck.
— Don Rippert
