Isaac was born Feb 25, 1995 and spent the first four months of his life in an incubator having been born prematurely. He grew up in public housing – known as The Projects - in Woodside, Queens. Roughly 25 years later, he now has a BA from Landmark College in Putney, an MA from The University of Phoenix, and, having overcome his own learning disabilities, he is now Assistant Director of Social Coaching within the Department of Programming and Social Coaching at Landmark College in Putney, VT. He helps neuro-diverse students find their way in the social world of young adulthood and their first year of college
His father, Bob Alam, is Pakistani; his mother Jenny, Puerto Rican. She gave birth to Isaac at age 16. He was born at Elmhurst Hospital on February 25, 1995 at 4:22 AM. followed by 4 months of intensive care before going home. And home was a first-floor apartment in one of twelve floors of public-housing, five apartments per floor. There were several such buildings, all grouped close to one another, in Woodside, Queens. Their apartment was adjacent to the entry door of their building – they heard the entry buzzer whenever it sounded.
“I walked to PS 151 across the street from where we lived for elementary school and then to middle school at Horace Greeley School, a five-story brick building a ten-minute walk from our home. Then to the Robert F. Wagner, Jr secondary school for Arts and Technology, graduating with a class of 500 in 2014.
“My own educational journey is deeply inspired by my mom, Jenny Alam who said about her own path: “I knew I wanted to be in the medical field but I didn't know exactly which, so I got my Associate’s degree in science in 2002 at Plaza College. (I had had to drop out of high school to have my son Isaac.) I was fortunate to find a college that offered a G.E.D. and Associate’s degree at the same time."
It was in secondary school that things began to change for Isaac thanks to his Mom and his Social Studies teacher: “In a parent-teacher conference, Mom suggested to the teacher that I get tested for a learning disability. They discovered I did in fact need support. Out of that came my Individual Educational Plan. I had a learning disability: memory, language and math difficulties. In classes I was totally motivated yet I would get C’s and D’s even when I had worked SO HARD to get even to those grades. I simply couldn’t reach a 9th grade standard.
“I was moved into a different branch of school where my classes had two teachers – one taught the subject while the other provided support for those of us who needed it. And my teachers were chill. Brian Carey, my English teacher, loved philosophy, history, Aristotle… We watched the first Star Wars movie in class while we followed the whole screenplay in front of us. We carefully followed The Hero’s Journey.
“Brian took us to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We walked around Jackson Heights and Manhattan reflecting on what we saw, connecting everything we saw to what we were learning about Aristotle in class. He cared. I graduated in 2014.”
“ I looked into small colleges with small class sizes. I didn’t want to feel like a number. I was afraid to fail. I was full of anxiety. I felt I had Imposter Syndrome having come from such humble beginnings. I had to work my butt off to get a C+. I felt insecure. I didn’t learn until later that I had a lot of strengths.”
“Then I learned about Landmark College and everything changed. I visited the campus. I loved its calm atmosphere. The teachers I met were really nice and welcoming. Everyone was helping everyone else. I applied, but I had no money at all to pay. I asked the admissions people if they could help me. They pointed me to the Vivian and Theodore Johnson Scholarship program. I was granted a full four-year scholarship! It covered ALL MY COSTS. That utterly changed my life!
“I earned my Associates Degree in 2016 in Liberal Studies and my Bachelor’s Degree in 2019 with a minor in Liberal Education. I had succeeded! I moved to Pennsylvania and worked as a specialist for a nonprofit company that opened group homes for people with intellectual problems – people who couldn’t function day to day. I stayed from 2019-2021 helping people find housing and jobs, but my heart was still at Landmark. In a way I wanted to go back, maybe to work there.
“Landmark hired me in the summer of 2021 as a Social Coach/Mentor. I work with individual students and their relationship with other people: understanding non-verbal cues; the art of conversing; how to maintain friendships, going out into the public, such as going to The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, going to The Works for a bagel and coffee in Brattleboro, bowling on Putney Road, going to Keene to see a movie, to Smith College greenhouses, Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, MA and nearby MassMoCA in North Adams…. No woods, no hiking, no mountain biking – our trips are all about being in people-situations. I also teach the do’s and don’ts of dating. I feel I’m making a difference. I highlight what my students are doing well and give them social skills. Everything else will naturally fall into place.”
Of Isaac, Christopher Lenois, VP of Marketing and Communications at Landmark, writes: “Isaac's role is as a Social Coach, especially, but not limited to, freshmen. He is the one who makes sure students have someone to sit with and talk to at lunch; he encourages students to attend events and activities instead of isolating in their rooms. He helps students take the topics discussed each week in group discussions and practice them in real life. I really don't know anyone who is more "boots on the ground" when you talk about the goals of a Landmark education of what, in today’s parlance, is a group of neurodiverse college age students.”
In Isaac’s own words, “I mostly support those beset by autism and social challenges who are, perhaps for the first time, away from home. I work directly with a UCLA text: Peers for Young Adults. The book shows students how to navigate social experiences in a college setting. I’m their social coach helping them build bridges from their world to the typical world: What are the characteristics of a good friendship? Conflict resolution? Shared enjoyment? What are the differences between close friends and casual friends?.....
“I also coach basketball here with a LOT of one-on-one training. We compete with The New School in NYC, Rhode Island School of Design…. North County Community College in Lake Placid, NY came here to play us. We have a full 14 game schedule.
“I’ve been doing this for four years, during which I got my Master’s Degree on-line from The University of Phoenix with an MA in Education/Adult Learning. My goal was also to continue my life as a learner, just as my Mom did.
“And my 16-year-old sister Inaaya comes from Queens to visit me often here in Putney. She’s in high school and lives with my Mom in the same apartment I grew up in.”
Isaac adds: “To anyone out there with a dream that seems unreachable, I hope my story reflects what’s possible for you too. Drive and passion can go a long way, and soon enough, you’ll find yourself exactly where the universe wants you to be. I hope my journey serves as a hopeful message for any young person trying to figure out how to express themselves and help others.”
This is one of a series of some 30 profiles of working people from southern Vermont and adjacent New Hampshire that I wrote and then published in the Brattleboro Reformer newspaper every Friday from Jan 1 - May 30. Do the same with your local newspaper.