Kenyon James: Class of 2009

Interview by Aneara Burns. Photo by Flonora Merritt.

Collegiate has always encouraged its students to go to college, but it isn’t always the best or right choice. There are other pathways and options to your desired career, and nobody knows this better than Kenyon James. I had the opportunity to talk to him about his time at Friendship, his time in the military, and his career. 

 Aneara: Where did you go to college? 

Kenyon: I went to Delaware State for a year, and then after that I joined the military, so I got my working experience while I was in the military.

 Aneara: What is your current career? 

Kenyon: My current job is as an asset manager and technical support assistant for Friendship Public Charter Schools.  

Aneara: And what does that entail? 

Kenyon: Just the basics of keeping up with the computers, chromebooks, iPads, and the peripherals of the school. Fixing what needs to be fixed, updating technology, just keeping overall track of everyone's IT equipment.  

Aneara: What persuaded you to join the military? 

Kenyon: I went to college for a year, and school has always been relatively easy for me. After spending a year in college  I was like, I'm about to do four years of this, and spend all of this money and once I’m out, I have to find a job and pay all this money back.  I realized that really is not for me. I was just looking at different avenues to get into the career field I want, because I always kind of wanted to do IT. I realized okay, I need some experience, but I don't really want to do four years of college. My initial goal was to join the Air Force, which upset my dad. However I had tattoos, so they didn't let me join, and I ended up joining the Army. I was in the Army for two years and after that worked as a government contractor. I joined Friendship in November after my last contract ended. 

Aneara: Why did you decide to come work at Friendship? How has working here been so far?

Kenyon: Working at Friendship has been great so far, I’ve really learned a lot from this experience. Many of my teachers and peers who were in school with me are now here to help me learn more, so it's been a great experience. Plus, I could be in this interview! So I feel important. 

Aneara: How would you say Friendship treats its alumni? 

Kenyon: Friendship treats its alumni well. A couple of people from my graduating class are actually teachers here. Jasmine Stewart, she's a teacher, and so is Kiko Butler. A lot of alumni that I know, from classes before and after me, have been given opportunities by Friendship to better themselves and hone their skills.

Aneara: Do you have any advice for the Class of 2024?

Kenyon: Stay focused. Things that you think are important right now won’t be  in the future,  so stay focused on bettering yourself and moving forward. Try not to let outside things distract you from what you got going on and what's important for you. And, there's always other avenues besides college. You don't have to take the traditional route to get to where you need or want to go. There’s different roads to get anywhere you want, you just have to find the one that’s best for you.

Alumni Editor Aneara Burns is a junior at Arizona State University and a 2020 graduate of Friendship Collegiate Academy.