Alaunn Wells, LA4

Alaunn Wells, LA4 Hidden Genius Alum, is the first to admit he knew nothing about The Hidden Genius Project even after submitting his application. He was encouraged to apply by his mom, who herself wished there were similar programs available when she was growing up. At first he didn’t fully buy into the mission, but over time he recognized how much it had shifted his trajectory. The program not only helped him build technical skills, but also transformed his mindset, fostering confidence, leadership, and intentionality. Having now completed the program, as well as training to become a Youth Educator this coming summer, Alaunn is dedicated to helping other young Black men discover the same life-changing opportunity he experienced.

How have you been?
Compartmentalization is something of the essence for me right now. Between school, extracurriculars, and giving myself that space to fail sometimes. All while also thinking about my future and what that’s predicated on, it’s been a lot. But I’ve been taking everything one step at a time and leaning on my support system because I think regardless of how busy I may be, making sure I stay true to myself and go through my journey with those I care about, everything else will fall in place. Sometimes I just sleep too, that helps.

How did you first learn about The Hidden Genius Project?
Not gonna lie I didn’t know about The Hidden Genius Project until it was too late. My mother had already put me down as interested, and I agreed. From there she helped me with the informative parts, address, zip code, etc, and I filled in the prompts. My mom learned about The Hidden Genius Project through a friend of hers, Toya, who works for the HR department at USC. And getting through to Toya is an accomplishment in itself because she’s like Wonder Woman to my mother, so co-signing my enrollment wasn’t something done to just get me out the house but rather intentional and very much in my best interest. My mom always says she wishes they had the programs we have now, and this me doing what she couldn’t I guess.

What was your experience in the program like?
Whenever I think of writing an essay about what sparked tremendous growth for me or what was at the pinnacle of me overcoming life’s obstacles, The Hidden Genius Project is the first thing that comes to mind. Beyond just the technical standpoint of learning HTML, what separates dynamic and static web pages, how data is stored, and all that fun stuff, I think of who I’m trying to be. And when I think of this, The Hidden Genius Project is the thing that separates the old me, from the new and improved version. My favorite part of The Hidden Genius Project was seeing everyone around me grow. But on a deeper level, my favorite moment with The Hidden Genius Project was dancing at our End of Summer Celebration.

Tell me about some of the challenges you’ve faced while in The Hidden Genius Project.
How did you overcome them?
In the beginning, I didn’t buy into The Hidden Genius Project’s objective including tech and the long Black history presentations, and towards the latter part of my tenure I was involved with Educating Students Together (EST) which conflicted with my commitment to The Hidden Genius Project. I think overcoming the lack of support I initially had for The Hidden Genius Project’s objective was just me fulfilling the commitment I made and me also realizing that I didn’t know better. I was like 16 and all I wanted to do was play basketball and watch Gilmore Girls. There was a reason Toya wanted me in this program, there was a reason The Hidden Genius Project’s sites spanned from LA to the Bay, there was a reason Sherida worked the front desk and greeted us with a smile even if we didn’t reciprocate energy. So giving The Hidden Genius Project time to grow on me in addition to upholding the commitment I made was how I overcame the lack of trust I initially had in The Hidden Genius Project’s mission. As far as how I overcame a restricting schedule that involved balancing Immersion Programming, playing basketball, and being a part of EST, I just put in the work. I sacrificed the time I’d of spent procrastinating writing documents or dribbling a ball. Making sure I was active or bettering myself saw to it that I had time for everything.

Describe the final project you created during your time in the Immersion Program.
My final project consisted of a mockup of a clothing brand I had in mind, “The Works”. Not just clothing but something deeper, that of quality, intention, and self-expression, through a variety of forms. Stemming from this objective I conducted research pertaining to the demographic within my industry and how I’d make my initial wave. What was my Minimum Viable Product (MVP), how much for me to launch my first drop, what were the costs of production, where would I sell, and so forth. In addition, I had to create a web page that provided a visual layout of what “The Works” consisted of.

How is The Hidden Genius Project different from other mentorship or training experiences that you have been involved in?
What distinguishes The Hidden Genius Project from other mentorship or training experiences lies within their culture and space for initiative. Being around people that look like you, have been where you’re at, live where you live, and/or relate their identity to similar pillars, it’s familiar. It’s not another place where you’ll need to navigate how to interact on a day-to-day basis. It was easy to show up and engage in a space where I felt like I didn’t have to constantly have a wall up. A big part of that culture also lies within success being as subjective as it is in the eyes of The Hidden Genius Project. I always felt like aiming for improvement and a way of thinking that was active and of intention was part of the success “rubric”. It wasn’t whose web page looked the best or who retained information the fastest, but how you actively participated in lessons and could you articulate what you may have learned on said day.

What specific skills learned in The Hidden Genius Project have been most beneficial for you?

• Articulation, being able to properly convey myself in a myriad of mediums that is easily digestible for my audience.
• Confidence, believing I can achieve certain things or will be able to & loving myself and where I come from.
• Processing, the steps in which I analyze and interpret various matters
• Focus, maintaining prioritization of something for large periods of time

How do you think your path might have been different if you hadn’t participated in The Hidden Genius Project?
Before The Hidden Genius Project, my trajectory for success from an objective standpoint was worse than it is today. I was trying to be the next Kobe without putting up the thousands of shots. And those overindulgent acts that I’ve outgrown were the basis of my interactions. My mindset wasn’t about improving or positive affirmation. I feel like if I had not participated in The Hidden Genius Project my baseline expectation of success would be lower, and the frequency at which I strived for said greatness, would lack the foundational skills I’ve built since being a part of The Hidden Genius Project. Now, I can walk into a room with people who I admire, places where I don’t feel familiar, and keep my head tall through it all. Before The Hidden Genius Project I had a tendency to wall up when things weren’t familiar, but I’m not that person anymore.

When you imagine yourself before starting The Hidden Genius Project, what’s different between that version of you and the current version?
I think before my time with The Hidden Genius Project I wasn’t as intentional with how I interact with the world and I wasn’t confident in my abilities. As far as talking on a stage, stirring up a conversation, or producing a presentation involving research, I couldn’t see myself being capable of what I am now. This is due to the fact that the skills needed to do said things weren’t as refined as they are now and I just didn’t see myself as someone worthy of praise in most regards. One time Ms.Janet [Los Angeles Alumni Coordinator] told me, “Alaunn, you’re a genius”, and everything about even repeating this statement was what was lacking previously. I was also big on procrastination, quick wins, and just many overindulgent acts. I saw myself as Alaunn the 16-year-old boy. Not a leader or someone responsible for changing my community.

In what ways have you remained involved with The Hidden Genius Project since completing the 15-month Intensive Immersion program?
Since completing my commitment to the 15-month Intensive Immersion program, I’ve completed training sessions in plans to be a YE (Youth Educator) this summer, I’ve attended partnered events pertaining to college prep information, I ran a workshop at Inglewood High for an event related to The Hidden Genius Project, and even popped into a couple of office hour sessions. The Hidden Genius Project, and more specifically Ms.Janet, have done wonders with making sure I’m up to date on any activities and opportunities that come through the program.

If you could talk to yourself just before you applied, what is one thing you would say?
The goal is for you to win. One can only do much to accommodate your strengths and preferences. After such provisions have been made the difference between failure and success is you applying yourself. The Hidden Genius Project wants you to win, they’ll show you how, but you have to want to. And it’ll be hard.

What words of encouragement do you have for future Geniuses?​​
No one’s perfect or unchanged after hardship, but you owe it to yourself & those who believe in you to try your very best. So introduce yourself, be curious, be considerate, take notes, and make sure to take care of yourself in the process. Everything can be overwhelming but if you do the small things, you’ll come out on top.