Trish McCarty was always told she could do anything she set her mind to. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, she grew up in Tokyo, Japan. Her Dad was career Air Force – a WWII veteran. Her Mom, whom she lost only a year ago, was graceful, elegant and kind.

This post contains highlights from Trish’s keynote speech for the ballroom gathered for the Central Phoenix Women Gala at the beautiful and historic Royal Palms Resort in Paradise Valley, Arizona – where US Presidents have stayed.

I saw the Ron Clark movie on TV recently. It totally reminded me of Trish McCarty. He believed in students no one else did…in Harlem. His students ended up testing higher than the “gifted” students class. Maybe they’ll make a movie about Trish! Mike Myers made a movie about one of her StarShine Academy Board Members – Shep Gordon – Alice Cooper’s manager. One degree.

Trish has an even more close-at-hand Hollywood connection. Her rockstar husband is platinum recording artist Steve McCarty. Partnered with Steve Miller, he co-wrote “Fly Like an Eagle.”

Trish’s life is one incredible meant-to-be story after another. The two met when he jogged by a group she was with at 5:30 in the morning when she called out to him after he passed to come back and take a picture. Something told her to do it. When he told her he wrote the song, she made him sing it. He’s not used to performing at that time of the day! Their story is in her bestselling book, The StarShine Effect. They also shared the story on my radio show in their interview for The Soulmates Project on how they make love between a CEO and a rockstar work. (link coming soon)

You won’t hear a story like the one that Trish shared two nights ago anywhere else, unless it’s being retold. She is fearless. She will walk through fire for those she believes in. It only touches what Trish McCarty is teaching students and the miracles occurring globally for StarShine Academy Schools.

“I was always told ‘Make friends with people who don’t look like you and your life is going to be a whole lot more interesting.'”

Trish wanted to know, “What might the world look like if every child discovered and grew their talents?”

“What if you could?” she asked the audience.

My parents always told us, “What you think about you bring about.”

“The messages we were learning in schools were not of empowerment. They were not of our potential as Americans. But of not being good at anything at all.” Trish McCarty became an advocate of changing our education system.

When 9/11 happened, a group of people came and asked Trish if she would open a K-12 school.

She said no.

Trish had been working on strategy for K-12 education with think tanks. The former banker was fretting about the results in education, “Who would have a factory where half of the cans get broken?”

“People can be taught love or hate, potential or victim, responsibility or despondence.”

Two weeks later – in 2002, Trish McCarty opened StarShine Academy to change the world. Scientists, teachers, doctors and celebrities began to help.

“We chose to try to work with the toughest kids in the worst crime rate area in Phoenix. If our ideas were going to work, I wanted to know.” At the time, the school was located on the street of the worst drive by shootings.

“Since I decided to do this, I decided to fail fast. I try to find out about any failure so I can just be done with it right then. I want to see if our ideas about health and well being would turn the worst kid that nobody wanted.”

One of the 28 kids in the first enrollment at StarShine was a kid named Jairo. “He was about 6’2. The picture we took – you would be scared.”

Jairo came in one day and asked, “Mizz, can I be President of the Garden?”

“I let the kids name themselves whatever they wanted to.” How empowering is that?!
Doesn’t this make you wish you went to school at StarShine? Except for that drive by shooting part.

Trish told Jairo he couldn’t.
He asked, “Why not?”

Listen to what she tells Jairo.
“Because you would have to be here all day Saturday and Sunday and you’re not going to commit to that and I’m not going to have the garden be a mess.”

Like a kid who wants a puppy and promises to walk it and clean up after it, Jairo said, “No, no. I will. I’ll be President of the Garden. I’ll take charge of it. I’ll teach the gardening classes.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You have to listen to her story of Jairo’s friend Freddie who came to the campus on the video https://youtu.be/lSLdnaIAXC8. He was killed soon after Jairo brought him to campus to help out with the garden, even though he wasn’t a student. Trish shares the specifics of how risky it was, but she wanted to attend Freddie’s funeral. Trish stood up at the funeral and pleaded with them to not keep killing each other. “Let this death be a lesson. Stop this now and save your own families.”

Jairo later informed her he was not going to be coming back to school. He hadn’t told her he had 5 felonies and averaged 2 car jackings a week. He was going to be sent to a penitentiary.

Trish told Jairo there was no way he was going to go to the penitentiary. She went to court and walked right in to talk to the judge, against two lawyers. She implored the judge, “I have the school he attends and I want to be sworn in.” She wanted to go on record. The judge had her sworn in!

There by herself, Trish pleaded Jairo’s case. “This kid – his father, his grandfather, his cousin are all in Federal penitentiaries. He stole his first bike at 3 years old at Christmas because he wanted to teach himself how to ride a bike.”

Trish explained to the judge, “If you had his life, you would be sitting right where he’s sitting. He is making straight A’s. He’s President of our garden. And if you send him into prison, you’re going to waste my tax dollars, $78,000.”

Trish tells the judge, “I’m not going to have it! I will go on CNN. …But you are not putting a 17-year-old in a Federal penitentiary!”

The judge had Jairo stand up. “We teach the kids protocol. How to stand. The number one fear in the world is public speaking. The first thing they have to learn.”

The judge said, “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Jairo stood up. “He’s this big kid, gang kid. These kids don’t normally cry. He burst out bawling.”

Jairo said, “Judge, she is the only person ever in my life who ever thought I could do something. I just want to prove that I’m good.”

Guess what the judge did? He said, “Jairo, if you will clean up your act I will expunge your record by the time you’re 20.”

“By this time, everybody’s crying. The lawyers are crying. Jairo is crying.” The audience listening to Trish regale them is laughing. Trish McCarty is a force!

Jairo did get his record expunged.

Trish and her husband Steve ran into Jairo at Harkins Theater two years later. He was the manager. Steve ran and got the camera. He promised Trish he would pursue his dream to get into the FBI.

This is one of the many stories of StarShine Academy, thanks to Trish McCarty – who decided in 2002 to change the world through K-12 education for kids no one believes in.

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Learn more about StarShine: www.starshineacademy.org

Trish calls to the best in each of us. No matter where you are in life or what you’ve been given or not given. Her message and her belief in the good in people no one believes in will inspire people all over the world. StarShine Academy is competing for the Global Learning XPRIZE. Computer tablets will be delivered to some of the millions of illiterate children around the world along with StarShine Principles if StarShine wins the XPRIZE. Trish met with the Pope at the Vatican in May 2015. As a result, StarShine Academy is being brought to Boys’ & Girls’ Towns in Italy! She’s spoken at the United Nations. There is a peace pole at the StarShine Academy Phoenix, Arizona new campus.

Behind the Scenes:  I’ve known Trish from a distance until the last year when our paths became entwined with StarShine Academy and our mutual goals to change the world – Trish through education, myself through helping people make better choices in love so they marry the right one. Trish is an Air Force brat and I’m a Navy veteran. We’re both Capricorns. She inspires me every day to exponentially expand my 96% happily-ever-after rate beyond Phoenix, Arizona…to the world. And I will!

~Video spontaneously captured on iPhone 6+. The content is so valuable, it’s worth seeing past the camera movements as I got the monopod set up and tried to eat dinner with my left hand. I tried the YouTube stabilization feature, but it made the picture blurry. Her message is too valuable not to get it out there and inspire those who come along and might just believe in themselves because they hear Trish’s message.