Today we’d like to introduce you to Larissa Jean.
Hi Larissa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hello! My name is Larissa Dayana Jean. I bless God for the privilege to steward the vision of the Gift Center Leadership Academy as the Founder and CEO. I am originally from Port au Prince, Haiti. I am the eldest of two brothers. After my parents and I immigrated from Haiti when I was a young child, we moved to Boston, Massachusetts where I spent my childhood. In July of 1997, God transitioned my family again, this time to Lawrenceville, Georgia. When I think about how the Gift Center Leadership Academy went from a dream to now a reality, the Lord always takes me back to my first prophetic word, which I believe now was the Gift Center in seed form. When I was nineteen years old, a woman of God prophesied to me “God is going to use you to lead a lot of young people.”
Seven years later, flash forward to the summer of 2011. I was a graduate student in Bible college at Beulah University. That summer, I took Organizational Leadership with Dr. Bruce Tucker, one of my absolute favorite classes and professors that year. The topic for our final paper that summer was “If you could lead any organization, what would it be?” Naturally, I told the Lord that if there is any organization that I would love to lead, it would be a school.
In 2014, God opened a door for me to serve as the International Baccalaureate and Gifted Coordinator for the Clarke County School District in Athens, Georgia. When I learned that gifted students from diverse cultural backgrounds were underrepresented in the AP Program and Advanced Level courses at the school, I established and led the Gifted Minorities Achieving Initiative. This initiative provided support for culturally and linguistically diverse students and their families with the academic, social, and emotional support that is unique to this demographic of gifted students. This experience was not only a powerful opportunity to be an agent of change in the field of education, but God used it to spark a new passion in my heart to lead and shepherd the next generation of Christ followers from all cultural backgrounds because talent is found in all cultural groups!
On August 3, 2016, while driving home from work on Highway 316, the Lord dropped in my heart: “The Gift Center: Your gift will make room for you.” The Gift Center Leadership Academy is founded on the scripture, Proverbs 18:16 which says, “Your gift will make room for you and bring you before great men.” The idea for a school, the Gift Center, was born that day.
Four years later, on August 1, 2020, the Gift Center Leadership Academy officially launched! The GCLA welcomed its first cohort of gifted public, private, and homeschool Kingdom scholar leaders! Since our inaugural cohort, we have also provided private college and career coaching for gifted 11th & 12th grade scholars, helped scholars get accepted in their dream college, gifted scholars with scholarships, have built strong relationships with community leaders, and have launched our Gift Center Parent University. We are now preparing to welcome our 4th cohort of 9th & 10th grade scholars for the Fall of 2024! This journey continues to be nothing short of a blessing!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Oh my goodness! There have definitely been bumps along the road! But, I am grateful that the bumps along the road were opportunities for God to step in and open another door. Believe it or not, I thought that the Lord needed the Gift Center launched in the Fall of 2018, as a homeschool co-op in my community. In that season, there was an increase of families who were led to homeschool their children. However, when Lord downloaded the blueprint for the Gift Center, I remember Him telling me specifically that the Gift Center would not be a “traditional” school. He told me that this school would provide unique services for families with gifted children in the homeschool, public, and private school sector. When that door closed in 2018, two whole years elapsed. This allowed time for me to go back to the drawing board, pray, listen, and wait for the green light to birth this school.
Then, the global pandemic hits in March of 2020, and God says,”GO! NOW IS THE TIME! LAUNCH!” I remember asking God, “You want me to launch the Gift Center in a pandemic?!” This journey has taught me that God’s ways are truly higher than our ways and sometimes what seems crazy is really God! As parents and scholars were now forced to do remote learning, I was able to survey parents about some of their pain points and needs for their scholar in the areas of mentorship, college and career readiness, and leadership development. In the beginning, it was challenging to reach families who would benefit from the Gift Center.
Moreover, in the early stages of the pandemic, social distancing and health concerns made parents very worried about sending their children back to any physical buildings to learn. But I am grateful that in our inaugural cohort we were able to serve scholars from all three target sectors even in a pandemic! I believe that parents are still experiencing the ripple effect from the pandemic as it pertains to academics and interpersonal skills in their youth. However, when I look back, I understand why the Lord needed the Gift Center to launch in the summer of 2020. Because the pandemic changed and challenged everything we once knew, GCLA has had the privilege to help the next generation really discover their God given gifts, sharpen their gifts, steward their gifts, and operate in their gifts for the glory of God.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
From the time I was four years of age, I knew that I wanted to teach. In fact, I was born to teach! This is truly my passion and calling. For the last 15 years, I have served in the public school classroom as a Spanish teacher for grades K-12. As a multilingual individual, I have always loved different languages, cultures, and people. My passion for the Spanish language and culture has afforded me the privilege to connect with young people from around the world.
I have been certified in Gifted Education for the last decade. I am equally passionate about being a champion for gifted learners from under-represented cultural and linguistic groups, while molding them into the 21st century leaders we need!
I consider myself as a multi-passionate individual! In addition to my love for teaching, learning, and leading, I am a minister of dance and a published author. As an ordained minister, I love being able to teach and preach God’s Word and help people to see the gifts, natural abilities, and strengths they already possess to be everything they were created to be. In my role as the Founder and CEO of the Gift Center, I am grateful to pull from all of these unique strengths to equip the next generation of 21st century leaders.
Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
This is easy! My favorite childhood memory was when I was four years old. I vividly remember telling my mother, “When I grow up, I want to be a teacher.” My mother bought me my first chalkboard that was just my size. While in my room, I would teach my teddy bears, teach my dolls, teach my siblings, my cousins, and anyone who would step into my “classroom.” This is when my mother and I discovered that one of my God-given gifts was teaching.
Pricing:
- Gift Center Leadership Academy Annual Tuition: $2970
- Gift Center Consulting Services: $75/hr for High school Juniors
- Gift Center Consulting Services: $100/h for High School Seniors
- Gift Center Private Spanish Tutoring Sessions: $55/hour
- Gift Center Parent University Annual Membership Subscription: $40
Contact Info:
- Website: www.
thegiftcenter1816.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegiftcenter1816/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGiftCenter1816
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larissa-jean-874aa927/
- Other: linktr.ee/thegiftcenter
