The R1SE story begins in a less than surprising place, the classroom. However, the way this story unfolded is less than expected.  My name is Trevor Szafranski and I was an elementary teacher. My greatest strengths as an educator were creativity and innovation.  If there was ever an opportunity to excite my students with something spectacular, I was all over it.  Time and (limited) finances were never going to deter me from bringing awe into our day.  However, I found myself with a burning desire to do something bigger.  Confused by what this meant for my future, I did the one thing that has never failed me, I prayed.  I asked God to show me the door I was meant to walk through.  Little did I know, I'd soon be walking out of the classroom door and into state-of-the-art student facilities that I would design during my lunch periods and midnight design sessions.  I recognized two major problems in every community and my "dream facility" was about to solve both.  ​

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Every day as an educator, I noticed students who desperately needed academic support and/or mentorship.  However, curriculum requirements, timelines, data collection, and loads of responsibilities often left me unable to devote enough time for student support.  I noticed straight A students who were coasting.  I recognized incredibly talented kids who thought they were average because of their tests scores but, they were anything but ordinary.  Lastly, I had students who were sad, unmotivated, and stuck in a square box when they were meant to fly. At the same time, overworked parents were left scrambling for a bridge connecting work schedules and school schedules that have never aligned.

I decided to do something about it and pursue a revolutionary idea gifted from above.