A lot of folks took a chance on me when… how should I say this? I wasn’t sure I was a sure bet. I’m still not sure I’m a sure bet, but do you ever feel that you are in life?

 

What I am sure of, is that as long as I’m in the position of being able to pay back some of those bets, I will. Which is what inspired my wife, Amy, and I to establish a scholarship fund to give financial support to students from historically underrepresented (and underestimated) populations studying at my alma mater, Texas Tech’s School of Art.

 

I’m 46 as of May 31—not sure how that happened. And as a way to celebrate, I’ve decided to add another $4,600 to that scholarship fund. And I’d like to ask any of you who are interested in making a bet on other young designers-in-the-making to contribute something, too.

 

To be clear: I’m not the focus of this get-together. Truth be told, my brilliant wife Amy made my actual birthday into a moment of such joy and togetherness that if no one celebrates anything about me for the next 10 years, I’d still be satiated.

 

No, for this celebration, this birthday boy wants nothing less than to be relegated to the periphery, and for emerging creators to be put front and center.

 

I’m a designer by trade—now the co-founder and co-CEO of a firm called Godfrey Dadich Partners . We use design—alongside rigorous strategy and the tools of journalism—to help make sense of a world in transformation.

 

Design is arguably our most vital means of problem-solving. It defines the contours of public life and private life, and shapes our shared human narrative.

 

This is why it is so important to give Black students, Indigenous students, and Latino students of modest means the opportunity to become designers—to give them the tools and the education to have their voices heard (to mix a metaphor, I’ll admit it) in this increasingly complex world.

 

I’m so proud to be a Texas Tech alum. Unlike many elite design schools, its mission was (and remains) to educate as diverse a student body of creators as possible.

 

Still, much of higher education is still not affordable to all.

 

By donating to our scholarship fund at Texas Tech, you can lower those financial barriers and make an investment in brightening the future for some hard-working students who deserve it, and who are looking for someone to take a chance on them.

 

Like the folks who once took a chance on me.