When DeAndre Nixon returned to Akron about 20 years ago after leaving the U.S. Navy, he was deeply disappointed in the city’s education system. So in 2006, he started iN Education , an education nonprofit supplementing Akron’s youth with leadership and creative skills to find work.

The nonprofit is now entering its 20th year, and Nixon says more still needs to be done to help Akron students leave school prepared for the workforce.

After you left the armed forces, you entered the world of education. Why?

Well, 1996 is when I left the military. I was on my journey trying to find my way and I knew I wanted to be a business owner. So I immediately emerged into event production. I did Seattle Fashion Week over in Seattle for seven years and my grandmother had passed. I went ahead and made

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