Meet Michael

As a mentor, I started working with FriendsPDX at the height of the pandemic, which is when I first met Michael. I quickly discovered that Leray is many things; creative, optimistic, a problem solver, and endlessly inventive. I learned that he makes his own music with dreams of becoming a rapper; that he wanted to make his own DIY Spider-Man costume; that he was looking to be an entrepreneur over the summer and start a burger business; that he wanted to not only play basketball, but run his own basketball league. With the pandemic, he lost access to almost all of the above, overnight and without warning. What he didn’t lose was hope and his Mentor.

Our outings began virtually, but eventually grew to in-person walks with safety precautions where we started making plans for what we’d do when things got a little brighter. Fast forward to today, and Michael and I have written multiple scenes for a Spider-Man movie where his DIY costume is heavily featured; he’s performed on stage with music he wrote himself with the support of partner organizations; he’s even hosted a trial run of his basketball league at FriendsPDX with several other youth participating in his games!

One of our core assets at FriendsPDX is Hope, and Michael embodies it like few can. Michael has a new mentor now, and while I’m privileged to still be regularly connected with him, I can’t wait to see where his ambition, ingenuity, and drive take him next.