WORLD Channel

Why graduate? High school graduates make more money, are less likely to be unemployed, and live almost a decade longer than those who don’t finish school.

Despite recent progress, students of color are still less likely than white students to complete high school.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Malik Yoba is no stranger to life on the stage; his exposure to theater is the driving force behind his pursuit of acting. Yoba, winner of three NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series for New York Undercover, is the author of autobiography Yoba: Lessons From the Street and Other Places. He's also the founder of Malik Yoba National Theatre Company.

Though Amar’e Stoudemire didn’t start playing basketball until his early teens, he has become one of the most dominating power forwards in pro basketball. With athleticism, skills and guidance, Stoudemire was drafted into the NBA after high school in order to elevate himself and his family to a better life. The All-Star player is also a writer of a series of books and founded an outreach program.

After being inspired by a PBS program, Michelle Rhee joined Teach for America and then founded The New Teacher Project. Appointed Chancellor of Washington D.C. Public Schools from 2007 to 2010, Rhee was met with criticism due to her aggressive style of public school reform. Currently, founder and CEO of StudentsFirst, an organization dedicated to urban school reform, has written the book, Radical.

Artist John Forte started out as a classical violinist but after attending NYU for a short time, he became a producer on The Fugees' The Score. Forte was sentenced to 14 years on drug possession, which was later commuted. Upon his release, he attended The London School of Economics. An active voice in the debate for prison reform, Forte is currently working on an autobiographical documentary.

Susan Taylor, born and raised in Harlem, began her career as a freelance fashion and beauty expert for Essence, the year the magazine was founded in 1970. She rose through the ranks to become editor-in-chief and then publications director. Named "the most influential black woman in journalism" by American Libraries in 1994, Taylor is the founder and CEO of The National CARES Mentoring Movement.

Emmy and Edward R. Murrow Award-winning Maria Hinojosa is a journalist, who began as a radio host at Barnard College. Rising through the media ranks for her work reporting on immigration and Latino issues at CBS, CNN, and NPR, she's been named one of the 100 most influential Hispanics. The founder of The Futuro Media Group was also the first Latina to anchor a Frontline report (Lost in Detention).

Award-winning chef Angelo Sosa is known for bold interpretations of Asian and American cuisine using complex flavors. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Sosa cooked in several acclaimed kitchens, even becoming an Executive Sous Chef. Most recently, he was the runner up on the seventh season of Top Chef, and is the owner of several restaurants in New York and Las Vegas.

Climbing through the print media ranks, Roland Martin became the executive editor of the Chicago Defender in the '90s. Known as an authority on race, politics, religion, Martin has received awards for excellence in journalism and is an NAACP Image Award recipient. The host of news program Washington Watch also pens a nationally syndicated column and is a highly sought political and social analyst.

Andrew "Lemon" Andersen is a poet raised in Brooklyn. He watched his stepfather, father and mother die from heroin abuse and AIDS complications, leaving him and his brother to grow up alone. With talent, encouragement from friends and mentors in the Hip Hop community, Andersen rose to critical acclaim. He has appeared in Def Poetry Jam, the PBS documentary Lemon and one-man show County of Kings.

Born into a working-class family outside of Detroit, Michael Eric Dyson became an ordained Baptist minister, and then obtained his masters and PHD degrees in religion from Princeton University. He is now a professor of sociology at Georgetown University. Called inspiring and influential by Essence and Ebony, Dyson is an author of 16 books focused on issues within the African American community.