Bernard Thomas-Anum came to the U.S. with his parents and older sister from Nigeria when he was eleven years old. While in elementary school, he wandered into the CSNDC’s Computer Learning Center (CLC), which is in his neighborhood, in the hopes of getting some help with his homework.
“They had computers I could use, and I was able to relax and study and do my homework, and everyone accepted me,” he recalls.
There, he met Prince Charles, CSNDC’s CLC Coordinator, who took young Bernard under his wing and has served as his youth mentor ever since.
“I’ve learned a lot from Mr. Charles. He connected me to a lot of resources I need and taught me to care about my future,” says Bernard.
One of the many ways Prince has supported Bernard was to help him find summer jobs at The Boston Project Ministries and elsewhere. Bernard returned the favor by helping Prince when the CLC hosted graduations and other parties. Recently graduated from Roxbury Prep High School, Bernard will be attending Vanderbilt University on a full scholarship in the fall. He plans to study biology and aspires to be an ER doctor.
“I want to be an ER doc because I don’t want to focus on just one side of medicine – and I feel like I can save more lives doing that,” he says.
