An inside look at the Jaylen Brown project that’s changing Boston forever

CAMBRIDGE — Jaylen Brown isn’t typically a morning person.

But on Monday, the four-time Celtics All-Star walked into MIT’s Media Lab, bright-eyed at 9:30am sharp, eager to greet the more than 100 students who were about to embark on his week-long Bridge program.

The students, who largely hail from Dorchester and Roxbury, were carefully selected to attend the full-week, interdisciplinary program centered on robotics, artificial intelligence, climate change, food insecurity, data visualization, and a range of other topics.

They weren’t picked because they were academically gifted or because they scored particularly high on exams. Instead, Jaylen and his mother, Mechalle Brown (who is also the president of the 7uice Foundation), worked to pick students recommended by various local Boys and Girls Clubs due to their character.

“I wanted to send the kids who are helpful in their community, who seem to care, who want to strive to help and touch others,” Jaylen Brown told me as the camp neared its conclusion. “I wanted to bring 100+ kids together, who all kind of had the same mentality.”

Note: As a lifelong Bostonian who previously worked in the nonprofit space, I had long been fascinated by Bridge and its mission. I knew that Brown had been running the program since the pandemic, but didn’t have a strong sense of what the program actually entailed. So, with the Celtics undergoing major roster turnover, and Summer League still a few days away, I asked to attend the camp under the premise that I’d act as a fly on the wall and soak in hours of programming. Normally, when I cover an event, I live-tweet all the action and take photos. This time, I got to sit back and cosplay a camper.

A day in the life of a Bridge program camper

To begin the week, Brown led the students in a self-affirming chant.

“The world is mine.”
“The world is mine.”
“The world is mine.”

By the end of the week, I realized the mantra perfectly captured the mission of Bridge: to present students with endless information and resources, to instill in them confidence and self-belief, and, perhaps most importantly, to encourage them to pay it all forward.

On Monday, the students — referred to as scholars — attended workshops led by NASA astronauts.

On Tuesday, they learned about civic engagement from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.

On Wednesday, they met US Olympic gymnast Jordan Chiles, renowned sports reporter Jemelle Hill, and Basketball Hall of Famer Sheryl Swoopes.

The jam-packed schedule included visits to the Google offices and the Museum of Science. Mechalle pointed out to me that most of these kids live within 15 minutes of MIT and Google, but had simply never had that access or exposure.

They received career advice from Celtics’ VP of Team Operations and former WNBA star, Alison Feaster. They learned how to code and competed in chess tournaments. They hung out with rapper and activist Killer Mike.

And, there was the uber practical; they sat through presentations from college admissions counselors representing a myriad of nearby universities, who fielded countless questions about the application process.

In between sessions, one of the program’s leaders, and high-energy emcee, RuQuan Brown, led hype sessions and dance parties. That’s because part of the purpose of Bridge is to make learning cool and fun.

“We live in a very unserious generation,” Brown said. “Everything is, like, a lot of trolls. It’s almost cool not to think at all. And I’m not trying to make it overly dense, but I want people to think.”

Normally, when Brown makes a public appearance, he’s swarmed by kids who view him as a celebrity before anything. And while he certainly worked through his fair share of selfie requests throughout the week, at Bridge, the vibe is different.

“As you guys are becoming world changers and people that make a difference in the world, I thought it was key that we introduce you to a lot of people that may inspire you in a lot of different ways,” Brown tells the students.

The Bridge program doesn’t tell students which discipline they have to pursue, or which speakers they have to connect with — instead, it simply presents them with a multitude of options to ensure that they better understand the possibilities that exist.

Brown believes it’s important that, as a player of the Celtics, he’s a carrier of the message that learning matters.

“Even in a city like Boston, some of our most prominent figures in sports are more influential than any of the political leaders here,” Brown said. “So, exposing [students] to building life skills, and at the same time, building leadership skills — the combination of those two can make some really good human beings.”

In its fourth year, the Bridge program boasts lots of success stories

In 2021, Jesse Lee Givens IV first enrolled in the Bridge program, which was primarily virtual at the time, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 14-year-old instantly fell in love with the Bridge’s interdisciplinary approach, which allowed him to combine his passions for music and STEM, something he didn’t know was possible. The session culminated in him creating music using DNA samples.

Today, Givens IV conducts research at MIT. He also recently secured a full ride to Boston University and is one of more than a dozen support staff helping run Bridge this summer. Coming back to Bridge as a program lader was a no-brainer decision.

“I was really inspired,” Givens IV told me. “I wanted to want to pass down what I learned here.”

Ahead of a 7uice Foundation comedy show on Monday night — which Joe Mazzulla and several other members of the Celtics coaching staff attended — Brown gushed about the now-18-year-old’s success.

“Jesse was one of the first people in the Bridge program,” Brown said with a massive grin plastered across his face. “We designed a curriculum to take kids from the inner city and expose them to these resources. He took that exposure, and he’s running a race that — can’t nobody beat him right now.”

Brown’s passion for learning and community stems from his grandmother

Throughout the week of the Bridge program, Brown regularly worked out at the Auerbach Center and subsequently proceeded to spend his entire day at MIT with his students.

It’s a hectic schedule, and one that also includes managing his sneaker and apparrel company (741 Performance) and business incubator for entrepreneuers from underrepresented communities (Boston XChange), and serving as the longtime vice president of the NBA’s player union (he’s headed to Las Vegas this weekend to fulfill those obligations).

Brown told me he’s gotten better about delegating at least some of his responsibilities to others, so that all of his endeavors can stay afloat.

But, he still won’t skip a single Bridge lecture, and as he sits among the sea of students, Brown appears to be one of the most engaged spectators in the room, his phone tucked away as he intently listens and locks eyes with each session’s panelists.

Ciggs / 7uice Foundation

It’s a passion for learning that isn’t feigned, and one that has been central to his identity since he was a toddler, his mother tells me.

“He loved to go to preschool,” Mechalle says. “Every day, he was like, ‘Am I going to school?’ And, if there was a day that maybe was a holiday, and I was like, ‘We’re not going today,’ he would just get really upset that he was not going. I’m like, ‘What kid gets upset that they’re not going to school?’ But ever since he was little, he’s loved to learn. He loves to read.”

Brown inherited that yearning for education from his grandmother, Dianne Varnado, a school social worker who gifted him workbooks as a kid. Dianne taught Jaylen to prioritize schoolwork, and she stressed the importance of being an active community participant.

“I do get that from my grandmother,” Brown said. “The quote that I would say that encapsulates that is: There are a bunch of people who complain about society, but do little to contribute to it. And my grandma was like, ‘You’re not gonna be one of those people.’ You can’t live in a community for 10 years plus, and have contributed nothing outside of whatever business you’re doing.”

Today, Bridge is a family affair, with Mechalle running the show, and Jaylen’s uncle, Byron Varnado, also serving as a 7uice Foundation board member.

“When I’m here, I just see the fingerprints of my mother,” Varnado — who is a primary care physician in Michigan — tells me, as a robotics class takes place just a few feet away.

Working toward addressing the racial wealth gap in Boston

In 2023, Jaylen Brown signed what, at the time, was the largest contract in NBA history, a 5-year, nearly $304 million supermax extension.

In that press conference, with Bridge students standing behind him, Brown pledged to work toward building a “Black Wall Street” in Boston.

“I want to attack the wealth disparity here,” Brown declared after signing his extension.

Photo by Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

The promises made in that initial press conference are en route to being fulfilled, both via Brown’s Bridge growing program and through his work with the recently launched Boston XChange.

Boston XChange, in collaboration with Jrue and Lauren Holiday’s JLH Fund, has provided $100,000 in funding, as well as transformative resources, to ten businesses in the Boston area led by entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities.

Next, Jaylen and Mechalle are working to more directly connect the Bridge program to Boston XChange.

“We’re going to have a Junior Achievement in entrepreneurship, which then would transition into Boston XChange,” Mechalle said. “So it would be a pathway for young kids to be able to learn that skill [of entrepreneurship] and then come into Boston XChange.”

It’s been almost 10 years since Brown arrived in Boston as a 19-year-old. He’s now working to address he systemic inequities that he once shone light on.

“I believe in the city of Boston,” Brown tells me.

Next up, Bridge is expanding into a year-round program

This year, Jaylen and Mechalle are turning Bridge from a summer camp into a year-long academic program.

To do that, the 7uice Foundation is partnering with Boys and Girls Clubs across the city and two schools in Roxbury: Madison Park Technical Vocational High School and the John D. O’Bryant School of Math and Science.

“We want to be able to touch more kids with the programs that we’re providing around zero robotics, AI, all these different things that we want them to be exposed to,” Mechalle said. “The world is changing, right? It’s becoming more about the future. And we want them to be prepared. We want them to be successful.”

This summer, Brown is focused on rehabbing his knee, which he underwent surgery for last month to repair a partially torn meniscus. But the tireless rehab hasn’t gotten in the way of his work in the community.

Ultimately, that’s what he wants to be remembered by.

“Yeah, I play for the Celtics,” Brown said. “Yeah, I started businesses here. But I’ve also been in the community. I’ve been in the Boys and Girls Clubs. I’ve connected with people. I spend time. People know me by name because I spend time in the community.”

“Sports are very powerful. But there are other things that are more important.”