Ep. 12: The Youngest Ph.D. in School History (Age 22), with Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes
Host Brandon Chastang sits down with Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes, the youngest Ph.D. graduate in Applied Chemistry in America. Brandon and Dr. Hayes talk about his upbringing in Chicago and North Philadelphia, and the dichotomy of attending a special STEM school in Philadelphia and going back home to a rough neighborhood. Dr. Hayes also discusses how he graduated high school at 15, earned two Bachelor's Degrees by 18, became a Ph.D. Graduate at 22, and is now a professor at Lincoln University.
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Transcript:
Brandon: [00:00:00] A Self Inventory report is the type of psychological tests in which a person fills out a survey about personal interests, values, symptoms, behaviors, and traits. Self Inventories are different from tests and that there is no objective, correct answer. Self-inventory is the podcast where we investigate the issues of society that don't seem to have any correct answer.
Brandon Chastang blends together history lessons, current events, and talks with people of all backgrounds to provide us as a society with a Self Inventory in order to move forward. We need to look at where we've been and where we are now. It's time for Self Inventory.
You're now listening to Self Inventory. I'm your host Brandon Chastang [00:01:00] AKA B McFly and yes, B McFly stands for being motivated comes from loving yourself. Yo listen, in order to get motivated, got to love yourself. We have a special guest man, and this gentleman right here is very special, you know um, I met him through a friend of mine's and, um, you know, we just been cool ever since. Yeah. Without further ado, I want to give a special shout out to Dr. Jalaal Hayes, man. What's going on, man?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:01:31] What's going on, man?
Brandon Chastang: [00:01:32] How are you, man?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:01:33] Good, thanks for having me.
Brandon Chastang: [00:01:34] Yo, listen, I am like super excited because you know, not only do we share a person, your brother, Tracy Collier. Your blood brother and, you know, we grew up on the same block master street for years, for years. And, um, You know, we shared schools like the university.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:01:57] You got it on. That's where we at right now.
Brandon Chastang: [00:01:58] That's where we at man Lincoln [00:02:00] university. So job, man, where did it, where are you originally from?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:02:04] So, um, for those who do not know, my name is like, he said that the Jalaal Hayes, um, I was born in Chicago in 90, at the end of 92 so like December 92, then the edge of it, like cusp December, January, but three days later I moved back home. I moved back to my parents' hometown, North Philadelphia and, and, um, we traveled all around, but around like age four, we settled back in North Philadelphia and that's where I've been ever since till uh, recently I migrated on the Delaware, but I'm bred, born in the Chi, raising the Phi double L Y. Born in Chicago, South side, cook County, Chicago osteopathic hospital. But then I transitioned over to, uh, North Philadelphia, um, 23rd and Woodstock, I believe. So it was like off of 20th and diamond at that time.
Brandon Chastang: [00:02:56] So for Philadelphia, for [00:03:00] you to have both worlds, right? You're talking about Philadelphia, Chicago. That's a tough mind set.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:03:05] Yeah, it's interesting because my father always told me, like you born in two cities, but it's it's two, if you look at the media now, it's like two of like the hardest. Like the rugged city where you got to have in a, in a bad way, yes, but also in a good way, because you got that resiliency and I guess that describes my hustle today. Well, it's a blue,
Brandon Chastang: [00:03:26] I think if I'm not mistaken, we talking about blue collar cities.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:03:30] Oh yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:03:30] You know, Philadelphia and Chicago. And I think Chicago was like the third largest city. And Philly is like either the fifth of the sixth. I want to say the fifth. Some people say it's the sixth.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:03:40] I think like the fifth.
Brandon Chastang: [00:03:41] I want to say the fifth too. Um, growing up, uh, like how was it, you know, growing up in North Philadelphia.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:03:52] Growing up in North Philly and it was interesting because out I described in one of the, [00:04:00] um, When documentaries I've got coming out soon, it's like dreams and nightmare. So what people don't know when I started out in the school system, I started out at a private school called Ivy league School, a black owned private school. I want to note that, um, from K from kindergarten, all the way up to, I think, fourth grade.
And then I transitioned back into my neighborhood where I went to public school, which was, uh, Amby Prep. So during those times, and then we went over to, uh, 16th of diamond, which is all broad and diamond where y'all know now as temple town, but it wasn't temple town back then. Um, a lot of it was rough. The reason why I said dreams or nightmares was because the school, the education part was a dream. You know, the formal education, the system. We wore blazers, you know, it was cool. But then you got this other side of education, right?
You come back home, um, back in the neighborhood and you see reality, you know, you see people that are usually [00:05:00] like at that time it was drug addicts and then it was drug dealers. But my parents tried to make sure they keep me away from that, but that doesn't stop you from being exposed to running and, you know, the typical, um, bully school fights and all that. And I had to go through that because my father told me at the time I got to protect my sister.
So I had to make sure that no matter what, you know, I was the smallest guy. I had to be the toughest guy to make sure that she don't get a mark on her because if she get a mark on her, I'm getting my behind beat on me. So that that's, that that's that.
Brandon Chastang: [00:05:32] That's the typical growing up in the inner city, tough neighborhoods. Yo, listen, I don't care what's going on.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:05:40] Yeah. That's something that I think a lot of people don't understand. That's something that just can't be taught. It's it's if you in it, you in it, and you got to learn how to survive. So you start developing innately the survival tactics that you got to deal with.
Brandon Chastang: [00:05:55] You know, what's amazing cause when you, when you listen to young kids talk, [00:06:00] right. A lot of young children look at people right now, wherever they at adults and they feel like they never had to go through nothing. You don't know what it feels like to grow up in tough neighborhoods. You don't know what it feels like now granted some people have it worse than others. Right.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:06:18] Um, did you have your parents? Yes. I had both of my parents.
Brandon Chastang: [00:06:21] You had both of your parents. Yeah. So that, that kinda like makes it better, but still they are not around when you got to go on your way to school and when you got to come home.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:06:33] You got it, man. And I think that's what a misnomer, cause I see that not just me. You see that in Philadelphia everywhere. And when you talk to certain people, some people got caught up in bad situation. Some got caught up in a good situation, but those two, those two situations also come from two parent households.
So when you, and I say this in the inner city, and I saw this in my journey, right? My journey I've [00:07:00] learned that my father told me now I could've, I could've went either way. And that was dangerous because I was rolling with a group of friends or a group of people that were in, in some situations but I also was the school guy. So it was like, I was living a double life. So, you know, I'm doing what my parents tell me and all of these things, but then when they weren't around, I got, I get caught up in the hustle life.
So I was a little, I'm not gonna lie. I was a sneaky kid. So for me, when people say, Oh, you had your mom and dad. You know, you, you, you good, you know, you protected, but they don't realize that even though you got your mom and dad, like you said, they're not around. And during that time, you know, mom, dad worked.
Both, my mom, wasn't like a stay at home mom, dad go to work. No, both of them work. So there was a lot of hours. It was a lot of hours. And I had to watch my [00:08:00] sister at the time, but it was a time where I didn't have to cause she got extra curriculum. I got extra curriculum. But again, me being a sneaky kid, I was, I was doing what I wanted to do at that time.
But I will say, um, that shout out to the OGs back in the hood, they saved me because they knew how my father was and they knew how my father moved. So they knew I was about to make those same directions and by the grace of God, they pulled me to the side and let me know you ain't doing this. Your father want better in you.
Brandon Chastang: [00:08:36] You know. I think that's what we miss him. Yeah. I think we are missing. Cause you you're right around that era. I don't want to tell nobody your age just yet, but you right around the ever where you probably caught the tail end of it.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:08:51] The tail end.
Brandon Chastang: [00:08:52] Like of a lot of things.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:08:54] A tail end, literally,
Brandon Chastang: [00:08:55] literally, and um right or wrong going [00:09:00] different, the OGs that were out on the block, man. It tell you what to do. You know, you know, like, yo let's say that it wasn't no going back to mom.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:09:09] And they be there too.
Brandon Chastang: [00:09:13] So you said you went, you started public school in the fourth grade or the fifth?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:09:17] Fifth grade.
Brandon Chastang: [00:09:18] So from, from fifth to when did you, uh, finish public school?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:09:23] All the way up to high school? I mean, I did a charter, but it, I get it. So, um, from fifth on I've been in public school, man. Yeah and it was interesting because in fifth grade, I remember it was like the third day school at, at, uh, Amby prep, um, school right around my neighborhood 23rd, 23rd, and Woodstock. A lot of people from North Philly you know what I'm talking about? They, it was like, I remember when these kids, it was in a plate during the time they had researched, they was [00:10:00] arguing and one of the kids just hit the bool and I was like, what's going on? He said, we from North Philly, we, we, we don't do all that talk. We hit first ask questions later. Wow. And that was my crash course. Like, okay, you can't be, no, you can't be no.
Brandon Chastang: [00:10:14] Be talking running off at the mouth.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:10:15] You can't be talking if you can't back it up. Right. Well, if you, if you're going, if you're going to talk, you know, that, that is I ain't going to get in all that, but you gotta make sure that, you know, you can back up whatever you're saying.
So that that's something that I think I carried to my life to this day, but that was like the crash course and understanding what neighborhood I'm in and it's weird cause I, I etched that in my brain. So if you see how I move, I don't really do a lot of talking unless we sit down and do this now, but I'll be making, I just move because I can't talk about it and be about it at the same time personally, me, because of what I learned.
Brandon Chastang: [00:10:57] What you've been through in your experiences.
[00:11:00] Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:10:59] exactly.
Brandon Chastang: [00:11:00] And I'm happy that you said that that's very interesting because a lot of people look at the hood and say, well, well, yeah, there's a lot of things that's going on, but what's your profession that you in right now, you took some of the things that you learned from the negative and say, yo, listen, I got to use that as well.
They don't necessarily got to be applied the way it was applied back then but I want to take that shut up and let me get this thing going and get busy and get busy. Um, how old, so you said you, you said you went to public school from fifth on to graduating. Now, how old were you when you graduated from high school?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:11:41] I was 15 years old.
Brandon Chastang: [00:11:42] 15 years old. So the, so normally some of his graduate, I've heard a 16, 17, but normally it's like 18.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:11:59] yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:11:59] For you to [00:12:00] graduate at 15 years old. What was your mindset?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:12:05] What was my mindset? My mindset at it was, it starts, so the journey started at 13. So I called that chapter in my life opposition turned the opportunity. So
Brandon Chastang: [00:12:18] what does that mean? I know what it mean, but I want to, I want to understand what the opposition turned into opportunities.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:12:24] So the opposition, um, I'm gonna break it down real quick. So when we talk about opposition is something that's going against, um, what you believe deep down inside of your, what you see face value, right? And the opportunity is the, just that window or that way to become successful in whatever you want to do what you ever deemed as an opportunity to financially health wise or, um, you know, anything that you see that you want to be successful at in life.
So the opposition, well, let me backtrack. So at 13, I was [00:13:00] inspired by my science report that I wrote up written up. I was at Conwell Middle Magnet school off of, um, Jefferson street up in Kensington Kinston neighborhood. Wow. Yeah. So I was, so I was at a Conwell Middle magnet school and this eighth grade teacher asks us to write a science report saying you can write on any, you could write on anybody that you never heard of in science.
So I couldn't write on George Washington Carver. I couldn't write on Benjamin Banneker. Coudln't write on nobody we ever heard of that was black. Right. Oh, wow. So I did research and I stumbled upon this guy by the name of Dr. Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr. Okay. Now there's this, this brother is, is phenomenal. He's the reason why that I had my journey today. I just didn't know it.
So Dr. Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr is born in Chicago. He was, he stayed in Chicago, but he graduated high school age 13. At this time I was reading him at 13. So when everybody say, wow, by my story, I was saying wow by his story [00:14:00] back then. Um, and then he graduated at age 19 with a PhD in mathematics from the university of Chicago.
So reading that story, everybody think, Oh wow, that's great. But that doesn't stop there. This one motivated me. And this is what I'm trying to do now is he produced 13 Black PhDs in mathematics. 13 Black PhDs in mathematics. He was nicknamed as the Negro genius and what I've read deeper later on was he was the protege of Einstein. This is all, this is a Black guy that nobody heard of. Right. So I used him for my report. You look like you got a question. Would you?
Brandon Chastang: [00:14:40] No, I'm just like, go ahead, go ahead.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:14:43] Yeah. So he, he essentially, he did that and that was, I wrote a report on him, do for Phi Beta Kappa for those who do not know what Phi Beta Kappa is it is a society where you get straight A's throughout your whole career. Um, [00:15:00] so he got Phi Beta Kappa, Brooke, brilliant.
Brandon Chastang: [00:15:02] Genius.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:15:03] 11 patents. Worked on the Manhattan project at the time, Black guy that nobody knows about. Right. And so did a report on him, wrote him up, but looking back, that was the affirmation or the manifestation of my own journey. So here's the opposition.
I went to, I applied for Philadelphia high schools, you know, in Philly you apply for the special admit, the city-wide schools and the neighborhood schools. I don't know if they still have that. Um, but the school I'm wanting to go to was George Washington Carver high school for engineering science, the 17th and Norris. Right? Um, a lot of people, reason why I wanted to go there was because GW Carver was my favorite scientist and was like Black. They got a school named after a Black man that's a science school.
Brandon Chastang: [00:15:49] Wow.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:15:50] That's my go-to.
Brandon Chastang: [00:15:51] That's a no-brainer.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:15:52] So that was like my top pick and then I picked the other five schools. I wanted to go to central, [00:16:00] but I said, no, I want to go to GW Carver, because they looked like they really having a science and engineering. It wasn't, I wasn't really familiar with STEM back then. It was just go, science engineer looked at that and then hits the opposition, they wouldn't let me in.
Brandon Chastang: [00:16:16] So talk about it.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:16:17] So I'm gonna, I'm gonna walk you through this journey real quick. So I was third, I think I was 13 years old, 13 years old. I shadowed a guy to see, they said, well, let's see if you really like, want to be in school. Shadowed this person. I was like, man, you got Black people from the hood, but they smart. I definitely wanna be in this school. Right. Uh, so I was like, I'm I still, this is my number one pick. So we sat there and had a meeting with the principal. I'm 14 around this time. No, I think I was still 13. So 13 around this time still. And they said, well, you got it.
All you gotta do is essentially, you know, pass the algebra test. I said, okay, [00:17:00] now there was situation where I rushed the algebra test later. I mean, I just rushed the test and I said, all right, whatever. But I didn't realize that was the test that will determine me getting in that school. So I got from, I think I was waitlisted that I never, they never like, said like I wasn't admitted.
I was like, waitlisted. We wait till the line roll up. So did that, somehow got into school. Getting into school. I got this math class called strategic math. Some, some remedial math, they made up and I took algebra class. Now on my mind, I'm like, why I'm taking algebra one, I'm taking two math classes, you know, I'm smart in math. Right. I know what I'm doing. I was top 10 in math 24 challenge. You know, why, why I got this is based off of this, this algebra test. I was like, Oh [00:18:00] yeah. Yeah. I didn't think that was serious. But that was the reason why I had to take an algebra and a remedial math because they thought I wasn't strong in math.
So I was doing extremely well, extremely well. My parents was in the midst of saying, listen, he needed to transition out and put them in the right class, put them in that history class so he could stay on track. They said well, we're not going to do that. So I did that. I did my whole year, ninth grade got the grades and um, yeah, I got the grades and I had to take summer school.
Now my dad was telling me, you have to take summer school. Now at that time, I taught summer school was for people who was failing. And I'm like, I don't want to like no dummy. I don't wanna take no summer school. And it's like, no, it's, uh, advanced, it's advanced and they got the review. You probably talking about the review, but there's an advanced portion, but only certain schools had it.
Brandon Chastang: [00:18:53] That's deep cause I never even knew you could do something like that. Wow keep going.
[00:19:00] Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:19:00] So we, we took the advanced course in history, um, but it was at a private school called Northeast Preparatory school. And it was interesting because the school district had to review, uh, probably get in trouble, but whatever I'm going now, the school district Philadelphia had review summer programs but the private school had advanced and review. So, but you had to pay that money.
Brandon Chastang: [00:19:27] See, but this is something that this is something that we need to know. I mean, we know how that works, right? You don't know if you're saying wrong or right. But these are the things that we need to know because only us can teach us. Only us to give us the game. So I never knew nothing like that. Wow.
Um, so why you're in school, right. And you know, you're, you're, you're looking at this, like you're, you're learning the sciences. You know, I mean, you're studying sciences, you're looking up to scientists. [00:20:00] Your love for science started when?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:20:04] My love for science started when I was eight years old in a third grade, I really started getting engaged, I would say in third grade, eight years old when I was in, um, just studying, doing experiments, but I didn't really do a science fair till fourth and fifth grade.
And I didn't, I didn't realize my father reminded me I had something going. So I got into the fifth grade where, um, I don't, I can't, I think it was like fifth, fifth or eighth grade, one of those, um, middle school years where I was, they, I was doing a science project so well that I was recognized down at, um, McGonigle hall and when they did the city-wide science fair and we competed that, that term.
Brandon Chastang: [00:20:54] Did you now I know growing up for me, I used to mix chemicals. I don't know why, [00:21:00] you know, just playing around mix bleach with something, see if something.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:21:04] Listen, but that's where it goes. You got to get curious. That's the that's all science is not, but just curiosity but then as you get older, you just get deeper into that level and analyzing it, using numbers.
Brandon Chastang: [00:21:14] Did you ever go through that big explosion or messed up?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:21:20] It's a, it's a funny story that my dad told me way back when I was growing up. Even though I'm a chemist, I used to do engineering, I guess it was engineering, electrical, engineering where I used to take apart. My grandfather bought me this motorcycle, right? And it can only go 25 miles per hour, the hikes. But I found a way to tinker with the wires that made it go 45, maybe 55 miles per hour and I will used to laugh cause it was just dry. And my father told me way back when he said, that's why I knew you was getting into science, but my brain, I didn't know what I was doing, but I always was like, eh, I'll do literature.
Cause [00:22:00] everybody in the hood, everybody around you tell you science is hard, but it came back around at 10 when I was 10 years old in fifth grade, when I tutored this young lady, um, on my block, she needed help with algebra. Now my mom was tutoring her, helping her out, but you know, I said, well, my mom take care of my little brother at the time. Let me check it out. So I looked at the homework.
I said, it's like my social studies, homework, latitude, longitude. So you follow the X, you follow the Y. Okay. Put the dot here. So I was like, I guess this is what you do and come to find out that's what she did for her homework and she studied that, prepared for an exam and she got a B minus.
Wow. Now mind you she's in the eighth grade. I'm in the fifth grade, but I'm thinking, this is like my social studies homework.
Brandon Chastang: [00:22:49] So you already advanced?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:22:51] I didn't know. Okay. I didn't know at the time. So again, this is like me learning social. I'm thinking this is me learning social studies. Okay. So [00:23:00] learning that, I mean, helping her with that, she came back, her B minus her father went over to our house, brushed over to my mom and dad house at the time, knocked on the door like, yo, thank you for helping my daughter, two tickets to the movie.
And my mom was like, I remember I was helping my little, um, my little brother Kamala at the time. Yeah. Like I remember Jalaal was being downstairs.
Brandon Chastang: [00:23:22] It wasn't me it was Jalaal.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:23:24] So there's like Jalaal. I was like, Oh me. So they called me downstairs. I said, yeah, I do something wrong? They're like, nah, did you help, uh, the girl name was Jasmine. Did you help Jasmine with her homework? I said, yeah, I thought it was like my social studies homework and it was like, Oh, okay. And they went upstairs and I think they, they knew then.
Brandon Chastang: [00:23:43] Wow. That you;re the golden child, that you're the scientist.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:23:48] Yeah. And, and it would transition. My dad always knew I was gonna be a scientist, but I didn't know cause I was all, I was engrossed in the arts, literary creative writing. So I didn't know. I'm like, [00:24:00] all right, whatever, it didn't click over into it slowly started transitioning over until I was in seventh grade and then eighth grade when it started, when I started really tapping in and that's where I'm realized, okay. That's where I wanna really be, um, a science person. And then that's why I found that scientist and that's what made me like, this is what I want to do.
Brandon Chastang: [00:24:22] Wow. So the one I'm listening to, right. I'm listening to, while I'm listening to Jalaal's story, Dr. Jalaal, let's be clear. While I'm listening to Dr. Jalaal's story, the importance of having, not just, not just parents, but a father around. Right. Um, and you know, recognizing your skills and your strengths, because there's a lot of children in the inner city neighborhoods. It's like, you know, they start off by doing curiosity.
Like you said, man, like when I was a kid and a lot of kids have done this [00:25:00] play with stuff and, you know, watch stuff, explode and all types of stuff like that or you go into the dirt and you try to pick worms out. That's another sign form of science as well. Right. And challenging or challenging your child to just keep going. Yeah. That's amazing. So now we're going to move forward.
All right. Let's move forward. 15 years old. We saw 15 years old. Dr. John has a personality, as you can see, 15 years old. Did you graduate from high school june? No.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:25:43] So that's a special situation too. So I graduated in and this is, this is how I knew my journey was unconventional from the start. So I left the public school system, went into the private school system to [00:26:00] graduate early.
Brandon Chastang: [00:26:01] Oh, okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:26:04] So some game real quick. So this is what happened. So during the time, during my time in 2008, The Pennsylvania school system does Pennsylvania, the state department of education had 21 credits you needed to graduate. I remember that. Yeah, but Philly had 23.5. Right. But the private school followed the publisher, I mean the state mandate. So that, that was the finesse. So, so, so, so my Dad was looking, he was like, he looked at how the credits could flow. He's like you graduate easily, if you want and we made this decision in September 17, 2007, after having a long meeting with the school, because he realized that they was trying to hold me back at that time.
They told my five or six years in the [00:27:00] system. Right. So my dad said, I'm looking at the credits. You graduate at 15, if you want. Now you can, you can graduate when they want to do it, or you graduated when you want to do it. But I didn't understand it at that time. I'm like he said, but it's up to you. I can make it happen. And I said, okay, let me look at my situations.
And he gave me like a couple of days and something drastic that happened in those couple of days and I came back to him and said, you know what? Let's do it. Let's do it. Cause there's nothing. I don't see nothing. I think that's when I had like conversation with one of my, my old heads and they was telling me it's nothing good out here youngin.
And I know, you know, cause this the time, like I'm in 10th grade. So this is the time where, you know, kids start thinking about yo, what's up. This ain't get me no money. I got to go. So we was learning some things in the lab and they learn how to cook [00:28:00] up that you know what I mean. So when they, when they found that out and we was in chemistry class at the time, so they was like, ain't make me like.
Cooking up.
Exactly though. They like, yo, it's the same, I'm hit the block. And that was like, it's weird. But it was normal back then, like either hit the, do it on the side hustle after school, or we just gonna do it all in full time. And so I stuck to what I was doing, but I wasn't getting into that. But it came a time where I talked to my old heads. He said, listen, you can do all that. Ain't nothing here.
I don't know. But you got, I don't know, something just telling me you gotta get up outta here. And that was a sign for me. Went back to my dad, like, let let's do it. Cause it's, there's nothing, mindset is that there's nothing here. So it was, uh, it was it w I ain't gonna tell you it hurt me, man.
Cause you know, growing up in Philly, you used to that and moving and busting, you don't wanna look like no nerd, no one getting to know you smart. And that's [00:29:00] the, and I know it's bad. No, no, no, no. I know it was bad back then. Um, but it's just, yeah,
Brandon Chastang: [00:29:05] but not the part that is being bad. It's tough because 15 years old, you want to be a part of the in-crowd. It's easy to be a part of the in-crowd.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:29:16] Yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:29:17] So with the help of your father and your mother and your old heads, and you, you made that powerful decision to say, let me go ahead and do a Kobe movement, I'ma straight.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:29:34] And that's what, and it's funny you say that my dad was, was showing me after I made the decision. Like two weeks later, he found that he found the article when Kobe was like dunking. When he just got drafted to the NBA from with the low barriers, he was like, you bout to do something like this and he from originally his dad from Philly. So you got to do something like that.
Brandon Chastang: [00:29:58] 15 years old, you [00:30:00] graduated from high school, your, uh, your father found the cheat, now I ain't gotta say the cheat code because.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:30:06] It wasn't even the cheat code.
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:09] It's the, it's the blueprint.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:30:11] I think. Yeah. Cause it, it wasn't like it was hidden. It was right there. Yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:15] So we can't say it was a cheat code.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:30:16] Like I, I think, I think it's because, and that's why I try to appearance now, the information is there. They just know how to hide it. But once you find that information.
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:29] Seize the moment.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:30:30] Bro, it's up to you and that's, and that's what anything. So my father just, it was weird cause he found information just going to. Um, I think it was one of those independent schools in Philly, independent school districts and that's where he found. He's was like 21 credits. I thought it was 23.
Brandon Chastang: [00:30:48] Yeah, because I think it was 22 when I was in school, I think.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:30:52] And I think it was because they just added the African-American class. It was when I slipped into African-American history [00:31:00] curriculum. So when he found that that's when he was like, I can make this happen, but it's, uh, you know, and that's why I think people throughout my journey think, Oh, your parents push you. Nah, I made the decision.
Brandon Chastang: [00:31:12] You're right. They gave you, they gave you that green light to make a change.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:31:16] I can make it happen, but it's up to you. Um,
Brandon Chastang: [00:31:21] so moving forward now, 15 years old, you made the decision to say, listen, 14, you made the decision at the time to go move up. So. 14 you graduated or 15, you graduated?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:31:35] I Made the decision at 14.
Brandon Chastang: [00:31:37] 15 years old you graduated. What happens from there? Of course, we're going to college right?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:31:45] In college.
Brandon Chastang: [00:31:46] What college did you go to?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:31:48] I went to
Brandon Chastang: [00:31:52] LINCOLN A O U. In pride. That's what it
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:31:54] is. Yeah. So I went to the Lincoln university of Pennsylvania and the oldest degree granting, [00:32:00] historically Black college and university in America.
Brandon Chastang: [00:32:02] So I want y'all to understand what he's just said. For those who.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:32:07] Cause that was my personal decision. I would say that.
Brandon Chastang: [00:32:10] Okay. So we will get into that. Yeah.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:32:11] That was my personal.
Brandon Chastang: [00:32:16] Uh, graduate alumni from Lincoln university, we go back and forth with Chaney and Lincoln, who was the first historical Black college, the first election.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:32:24] Listen we were dropping degrees. They was dropping teacher certificates.
Brandon Chastang: [00:32:28] So there we go. Y'all had to teacher certificates. We had the degrees.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:32:33] Um, and presidents of Africa, but we ain't,
Brandon Chastang: [00:32:37] we ain't going to even go there. We will keep this on you, but we can definitely go there. But we to keep this on you, um 15 years old. Now you are in school with, did you live on campus?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:32:50] Yes, sir. Oh yeah. I was, I was at D, Freddy D hall.
Brandon Chastang: [00:32:56] Oh my God. I was Theo.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:32:57] Room 219. I remember [00:33:00] to this day.
Brandon Chastang: [00:33:01] You are 15 years old.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:33:03] Yeah. And that's what I try to tell people like. People like now you see the geniuses out. But I would say I was like one of the first generations of the 21st century and there was no world blueprint because everybody, everybody had reacted like you was let your 15 year old son stay up here?
Brandon Chastang: [00:33:24] It's a little different.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:33:26] Like my dad, like he alright. He be alright. So yeah, I was 15 years old.
Brandon Chastang: [00:33:32] 15 years old, Freddy D Hall, room 219. Before we go there, you said that you made the decision to go to an HBCU now that's right there. Now I want to talk about that because you could have went to Duke.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:33:51] A lot, yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:33:52] You could've went to any, you could have went to a D one.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:33:56] A lot of my mentors literally wanted me to [00:34:00] go, but my ma my mom and dad graduated from Lincoln. Dad class of 27, uh, 1987, mother class in 1989. She graduated a year early. She was really 90, but class 89. My brother class of 0'5, shout out to Tracy. Um, so to me, this was like real tradition, not even old tradition.
It was like home for me. This was like my second home. So it was like, and on top of that, I was familiar with a lot of the, um, faculty already or because, okay. So, um, that that's, and, and my dad, um, I wouldn't say my father helped me through it, but he just let me explore and just talk to a lot of people because during the time he was, he has a lot of influence in Pitt and he allowed me to just see scope out who's this, who was that? So I felt, [00:35:00] I felt comfortable. So I was like, wow, why, why not go to Lincoln?
Brandon Chastang: [00:35:03] You know, I tell people, right, it's nothing wrong with going to
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:35:07] And I got a scholarship.
Brandon Chastang: [00:35:08] And you got a scholarship.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:35:09] Full ride.
Brandon Chastang: [00:35:10] So , we have it, but it's nothing wrong with going to any college that you want to go to.
But I always tell people the star athlete, the geniuses, the whatever the case may be, how, why don't we make our historical Black colleges the same way as we would make the, the, the big D one college.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:35:34] Do you want to know? Cause we, we need, I believe our communities need to make the investment. It's all about economics at the end of the day.
Brandon Chastang: [00:35:41] I agree.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:35:42] With people and I argue, and I debate with, uh, individuals that went to, um, other types of institutions. They would tell me well, Jaleel, you understand, you know, they got resources. I said, we can have resources, too. The challenge is we don't put our money where our mouth is to [00:36:00] make sure to get the resources so we can get the resource. It's like, it's like somebody going on being on section eight and somebody finally moving out the projects, but making sure to give the money back to get that person out of section 8.
Brandon Chastang: [00:36:12] No, that makes all the sense in the world. And I'm happy that you use that analogy.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:36:16] It's that's how I look at.
Brandon Chastang: [00:36:18] So did you do, how many years did you do at Lincoln university?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:36:22] I did three.
Brandon Chastang: [00:36:23] You did three. So you graduated at 18? Yup. From a university. What was that experience? And I'm talking about, I'm talking about, give me.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:36:35] So I would tell you my first semester, like any other college student, you know, your way home from your parents first time, and you have no curfew. You out. I was out all day, every day. But I still was studying of course, but I was outside all day, but it was the agreement that my father had. He was like, you can, [00:37:00] I'm going to take you home on the weekends but throughout the week, um, you up there, you, you up there. Some weekends. I may not take you home, but you up there majority of times.
So it's up to you, you on your own scholarship, but soon as I got to pay money, you gotta go home. So choice is yours. So, you know, I was a, okay. All right. But you know, you, you 15, 16, even though I'm on college. I'm in with 18, 19 year olds. My mindset is all kids. So it was like, I'm going to push the envelope a little bit. I'm going to hang out. I'm enjoying myself, especially during that first week where it was just a freshmen by themself, getting in the mix, knowing my class. I'm like, Oh, it was good. I was class of 2012 for those who do not know.
Brandon Chastang: [00:37:43] Shout out to Class of 2012.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:37:44] Even though I graduated 2011, I still love class 2012.
Brandon Chastang: [00:37:50] So wait, so not to catch your wisdom, but like your roommate. Yeah. What was that experience?
[00:38:00] Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:38:00] He motivated me to actually get focused because my roommate, he was from, um, from Jersey, um, shout out to my man, Manny. That was my, my first ever roommate. He was from Jersey and he comes from a Haitian
Brandon Chastang: [00:38:14] background. So shout out to Haiti, they just got their independence, I mean, they celebrated the independence day the other day,
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:38:22] I believe so yeah. So. He was, he had the whole Haitian culture. So for him it was like, no TV, study, make sure you know.
Brandon Chastang: [00:38:35] So that was good for you.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:38:37] So this is how God work it out. Right. So I've had him as a roommate and I was like, man, you ain't gonna watch on TV. He said, TV, I don't do TV. Wow. I said, but you got the TV sitting right there. He said, it's just dead, but I don't do TV. So that forced me. I was like, okay, [00:39:00] let me go outside. So I went outside, yo, what's, what's good. What's going on? So I did that for, for like my first semester there, you know, outside kicking it with everybody. And I had a, I got, my GPA is a 3.37 that that's not bad, but I needed three, five to keep it.
Then I need to get a seven, a 3.73 in order to just keep it keep my scholarship. So I wilded the half one, had good time, homecoming, out here, it was good. Everybody lit. But after that GPA, I realized I gotta really buckle down and really get serious because one I'm a STEM major, which means we don't see any light of the day. We in here majority of the time in the lab and studying in the room with the books and two, um, my dad wasn't having it. You know, he told me literally like you going home, so [00:40:00] you better get whatever you need to get. So, and I had a, I had a good support. I had a support system as well, so I realized I can't let nobody down.
Let me get my act together. So I grinded out, um, did summer classes too. And that's how I was able to graduate in three years instead of four years and at age 18. So I'll usually, I literally just applied at the same thing that I did in high school in college.
Brandon Chastang: [00:40:27] Um, I just want to commend you on the success and what I mean by success, because everything, when you look at a person, I mean, even people that are just smarter than you kinda like don't do this. This is something that's like, for me, it's something that I've never heard of personally, coming from an inner city in the, in and coming from where me and Tracy's from.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:40:54] Yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:40:55] Coming from where you're from. Um, so I, you know, for you to [00:41:00] have the mind state of, you know, what, I'm making some big boy in decisions and, and, you know, they giving you that lead way to make that decision.
It's amazing for you to come up here. And I remember when I first jumped on campus, I got on campus and I'm like, I wasn't even as focused. So I just commend you, man. I just want to say thank you for, you know, showing the way I, you know, giving your story.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:41:30] No problem.
Brandon Chastang: [00:41:30] Um, now after Lincoln, that you got your master's degree.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:41:38] No, so after Lincoln, um, I wanna, I wanna put this in here cause I think it's really important. So when I was on the verge of graduating, I didn't know what to do because I wanted to be a medical doctor. Lincoln is known for producing, uh, sending people to medical school, dental school, correct names of things of that nature in the sciences, pharmacists now, which I just learned.
[00:42:00] Um, but I've realized in my career after shadowing shadowing one, I didn't want to, I didn't want to, um, be a medical doctor anymore. Okay. So, but I have all these credits and I had the, the, the mindset of a scientist. So I had to make a quick pivot and, and making that pivot um, thankfully for my mentor, he led me, he asked me one quick question in an email.
He said, Hey, are you interested in hydrogen using it as a clean energy source? Now this is way before everybody seeing in the, in the media today and this was back in 2010, I said, Hmm, I heard of this sound cool. I looked at the opportunity. He said, there's this guy down in Delaware, state. Um, Dr. Andrew Goudy that's, that was my PhD advisor. He's doing great hydrogen work, cutting edge research. I think you will like it. [00:43:00] So I said, okay, let's let me see what it's about.
And that's when I thought I wanted them. I said, I'll get a master's because I still want to go to medical school. I still had. I said, I just knew at that time, I wasn't prepared for medical school. I did the MCAT, um, prep. Got it back. So I didn't do well. Do I want to take that chance to take the real MCAT? Maybe not. So, so did, uh, went down to GRA, uh, went down to visit Delaware state university and I said, I know my mind, I'm gonna get a master's probably one or two years I'm out.
Visit the lab, looked at the, this is where I saw actual research lab. Like you see here, the teaching labs. And, but when I went down there, it was an actual research lab. Like literally people, Black people doing research, and I'm looking, he got, he mentoring Black people and I'm like that to me, [00:44:00] I met a lot of Black chemists up here, but I never met a Black chemists that were mentoring Black men.
Brandon Chastang: [00:44:07] That's deep.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:44:08] So to me, I'm like, okay, this is, this is a little different, like. I didn't see this in my community. I mean, I meet them. I never, it seemed like actually helping us. So sat down and talk and had a conversation with him. He showed me the lab. Very cool guy. And he handed me the PhD packet. I said, nah, I think I want to get the Masters.
He's like nah, I think you want to do this, this, this doctorate. Right after. Right after, right after college, I was like, right after college don't you got to do a master's. He said, no, he said, he said, the people will tell you that, but I think you can do the straight doctor. I said, well, I said, so what's the difference?
He said, I think he knew I'm from Philly. So [00:45:00] I'm all about money. I'm about money. So he was like, listen, master's degree. You could take, you could take courses. I paid $18,000. You do a little bit of research, but you can get out one or two years. No, it was $15,000. He said, PhD, you get $20,000. You can take the courses. You can travel around the world with some research and you could be called a doctor. Which way you wanna do?
I said $20,000 I take the PhD. So that was my mindset. I didn't even worry about as an end, I could travel the world, can guarantee that? He said guaranteed. He showed me he said, we've been to Italy. We've been a United Kingdom. We've been the, um, Hawaii. I said, you can travel there just by doing stuff in the lab? It was like, [00:46:00] yeah. I said, Oh, snap. I thought you had to be like, like, like, you know, you watch the movies and you got in the only time you travel as like science is like the archeologists
Brandon Chastang: [00:46:14] Like studying rocks.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:46:15] Studying rocks and you gotta get a permit. Somebody's got to fund you. That changed my mind. So I was like, let me, let me, let me do the, let me do the PhD. My dad, as, as he always done, he said, all right, you say, you want to do it. I'm going to give you the resources, but it's up to you to send off, do the application, call, get your recommendation letters.
Brandon Chastang: [00:46:40] Gave you that responsibility.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:46:42] And that's when he finally gave the mantal over to me cause now you are 17 about to be 18. And he said, I did this with your older brother, when I'm about to do to you. Now, he said, I love you, but it's now time for you to really do your thing and really want to do it. He said [00:47:00] because 15, 17. You was a minor and I can, I can carry you through. You tell me what the, I help you. He said by 18. You really gotta want to and I think that's what, tell me that 10 years ago to now. That's what, if you see me making the moves I make now, him giving me that wisdom back then helped me out here in the day.
Brandon Chastang: [00:47:23] I just want to give a special shout out to him, you know, and your mentor for believing in you.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:47:32] Yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:47:32] You believing in you first.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:47:34] Well, I will say this, that took time, but we'll get it that.
Brandon Chastang: [00:47:39] Nah, and that's understandable, you know, but, but through the ups and downs, trials and tribulations, um, trials and tribulations, left and rights, you still managed to fight regardless.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:47:53] That's from growing up in my neighborhood.
Brandon Chastang: [00:47:55] That's what growing up in the neighborhood, man. So how long did it take you to get your doctor's [00:48:00] degree?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:48:01] Interestingly, and this is by the grace of God. It took me four years and people said, okay, four years, no, I want to put it into context. When you're in a doctoral program, you got eight years to complete a doctoral program. The average person finished about five or six, maybe seven to eight, they start saying, okay, we just going to give it to you been here long enough. But that, that four years, that was like, that's when I realized that's when the, the grit growing up from North Philly mixed in with the smarts and mentality, because I literally had to be in there every single day.
I literally was like, if you say like, Oh, you elaborate. I was, I was that guy. I was literally like, uh, a person that I can relate it. Like you, not somebody going to the gym faithfully every day, worked out and they, [00:49:00] that was me in the lab. I was literally working out my, my mental muscle every single day and that's how I was able to graduate evenly within four years.
Brandon Chastang: [00:49:09] I'm happy that you said that because it's like lifting weights. How much can you lift? Right. Well, if I put a pound, if I put pounds and pounds of books on your brain that you study, you can lift a lot then. And like, I love that part that you said that, um, so you got your doctorates at what 22?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:49:29] I got it at, uh, 22, but in the midst of that, before I did that, he kept his promise. Um, he definitely kept his promise. I, I went there and he allowed me to get in the lab. I was 18, just turned 19. He put me in the lab top of January 3rd, 2012. Yeah. Cause I graduated 2011, but I missed it. I also did some research with NASA too, but [00:50:00] that was between Lincoln and DSU. Did some research with NASA.
Brandon Chastang: [00:50:04] Wait, I was about to say yeah, I'm going to say when you, so you was getting your doctorates at Del state.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:50:08] Yes.
Brandon Chastang: [00:50:08] Del state. Okay. So you stay, you stay in, in, in, in, in a room of thing. Yeah.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:50:13] You and the reason why was because Delaware State me being 18, I felt like that was the best move for me because I got an offer to go to Howard. Okay. Um, I did a summer internship program for three months and I stayed low key, just did the work and they saw I was good with the work. But then when they found out about my story, there's all you 18 must be a freshman. I'm like, no, I, I finished everything I'm done. And it was like, You need to come to the Howard. I was like, nah, I said, I said, I was like, I was like, nah, I really want, um, I already gave a commitment to this, to this guy down in Del state.
Brandon Chastang: [00:50:57] And that's, and that's good that you kept your word. He kept [00:51:00] his word, your words. They worked out good. You're amazing journey. Yeah. You know, you had an amazing, amazing journey. And like you said, you even explained some of the lows, you know, like just being young and, you know, staying focused, growing up in tough environments, being around older people, the, of the temptations. You still were made focus. Your doctorate's at 22, I graduated from Lincoln at, uh, 22. So, so it's like, okay, you got two doctortes at 22. I graduated with the, um, the BS of, um, criminal justice at 22, 2004. You're now 28 years old.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:51:46] Yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:51:49] Dr. Jalaal. Yeah. Um, just name some places that you've traveled, being a doctor because of your profession.
[00:52:00] Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:51:59] Um, being a doctor in the chemistry um, the places I traveled. Two years ago, I recently was at university of Oxford where I spoke as a keynote in clean energy for the United States of America. Um, before, before that I spoke, I spoke to a few places cause after I did the feat, I was just going everywhere so I spoke in Minneapolis at a conference. I also spoke at a law school cause a lot of people don't know I do have a patent. So I did that inter allow me to enter the legal realm a little bit and speak on what was the process of accumulating a patent. So I spoke at another HBCU, North Carolina Central University School of Law spoke there, um, spoke.
Brandon Chastang: [00:52:49] Yeah. But you also spoke with, uh, Dame Dash, right?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:52:52] Oh yeah, that was recently. So I spoke, I spoke with the great Dame Dash, I call him uncle Dame.
[00:53:00] Brandon Chastang: [00:53:00] He deserves that.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:53:03] That was like my uncle in my head I spoke with, uh Dame Dash back in February and just trying to help him understand cause he worked with this group called OSG, shout out to, uh, Dennis McKenzie for leading that, um, OSU stand for off school grounds. And he was, he was like, you're a chemist. I said, yes. He said I've never met a Black chemist before.
I was like, okay. He's like, he's like, how old is you? I said, I'm 28. He said, yeah, you're young. And, and, uh, Dennis McKenzie, he was telling them, yay. This the guy telling you, you know, he graduated 22 years old featured on Disney. So that's when we pose it, like, wait a minute, let me, I gotta sit down and talk to you. He was like so chemistry, right?
Where you, where you like, you know, they be cutting, whatever snapping all the time. So I snapped back like nah that weren't me. I ain't into that but you know, my homeys was doing it. So we laughed and created that decorum. But he's like [00:54:00] on a serious note, how did you get into chemistry? My story about getting into chemistry and I said, you know, chemistry is like, what you talk about in business.
He's like word? I said, so remember the interview you was talking about how you were Tom traveler. You go to the future. You see what you want your future to look like, then you come back and you find them and you try to figure out a way to get there. He's like, yeah. I said, what you just described was called retro synthesis. We do that on our side and chemistry. We find the molecule we want to make, we look at the materials that we had and we create paths to get there.
Brandon Chastang: [00:54:37] And see that's what's up and that's so dope, right? Because it's so dope. Because again, you coming from where we come from, you know how to communicate.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:54:45] Yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [00:54:45] You know, and that makes it easier. Um, so you traveled and you traveled all over the world.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:54:53] I traveled. Yeah. Recently, UK. Um, I want to travel some more places when things opened up.
[00:55:00] Brandon Chastang: [00:54:59] When world opened up. Alright Man. You, you, you, you got a story, man. They used to like, like, like Dame said still young, still striving. You are here. We are here at Lincoln university. You are professor here, correct? Yes. Professor here. Have you stemmed? Oh yeah. Before I, STEM. Explain what STEM is, because I see a lot of schools are using the STEM. Is it technology?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:55:34] Let me break it down real quick. So STEM stands for science, technology engineering and then mathematics career. Some schools even talk about STEAM, which I talk about for the culture, which is science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. Down South may say agriculture, that a is, is prevalent in there.
So, um, I'm heavily in STEAM because me [00:56:00] being Black, I understand that our community needs visual audio as well as the hands on. I absolutely. Um, steam is like a reason why I say that steam is like the color TV. Okay. STEM is that black and white TV. Got you. So, so, so you, you, you see the picture, but wouldn't be great if you could see the colors and the emotion evoking when you connect to that school specific subject. That's why I say I'd rather do STEAM than STEM.
Brandon Chastang: [00:56:27] Wow. That's amazing, man. That is really amazing. How long have you been working here at, um, Lincoln university?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:56:34] I've been working here for about one this my second year.
Brandon Chastang: [00:56:38] So not only did you graduate from here and you stayed in the community because Delaware is a tri-state area, stayed in the community you came back to give back.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:56:47] Yeah. So, so when I graduated, when I graduated with my doctorate, I came back home to Philly. A lot of people don't know that I came back home. I didn't go do post-doc. Kept the [00:57:00] researcher that came back home to teach because again, my mentor, he showed me, um, you know, the HBCU culture you got to give back. So I went back home Philly and I wanted to teach. So I went back home, taught at a University Artery Charter high school, shout out to, uh, UAC HS in South Philadelphia.
So I taught there, they gave me an opportunity and it was rough my first year, I will say that because I didn't know how to teach. I was still in that research jargon, but it helped me really communicate and also relate to the kids, see what's new out there, but also how can I take my language of science, particularly chemistry, anatomy, physiology at the time, biology and how I can communicate it with them, break, break it down and then build them back up with their language.
And I felt that that was important because [00:58:00] the students, a lot of students in Philly, which I saw, I think I, I think my dad fought them, but I think I would have had one, every, a lot of students in Philly had an individual education plan, IEP.
My journey. I started out as a slowest. I would, I probably would like Tracy Sparta, but I started out slow a lot. I wanna put that. So I probably would have had an IEP. So, um, I related to those students and I knew I had to do something to help them. So try to help them as best way I can, which birthed my whole organization, uh,Elite Universal Network, where we make STEAM simple. That's from working with the individual education plan students and assessable, where I go out to communities and give them, um, STEAM in a culturally related way. Wow.
Brandon Chastang: [00:58:48] I'm happy that you gave back cause you could have clearly went somewhere and just say, you know what. This is where I'm probably being be more appreciated, you [00:59:00] know, more is more sciences is more chemists is more people over here then in our Black community. So coming, bringing it back and like showing them that you can still be cool and be a chemists. Yeah. You could still be down, use the same lingo and be a chemist. I hope for the young guys that are looking this is inspiration. Now the, the podcast is called Self Inventory.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [00:59:27] Yes.
Brandon Chastang: [00:59:29] And for me, I, before I started Self Inventory podcast, had to do a self-inventory myself. Had to get myself in order. I had, you know, dig deep down inside, myself, it fixed the things that I didn't like about me and sometimes people may tell you about you. And it's like, yo, listen, I don't care. But then once I had to dig deep down into my soul and say, nah, I need to work on that. Yeah, I [01:00:00] did that. Yeah. So that was the whole purpose of Self Inventory. I always ask everybody, what is your Self Inventory?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:00:08] My self inventory as, um, I'm still dealing with it I'm not even going to lie, is trying to, I'm learning now about myself, all the things that I've done that great, but who is Jalaal really? Like the world knows this, this and this and this about me and I can do a lot of things, but at the same time, I'm learning that there are some things that I need to work on for, uh, for me first and foremost, I need that work-life balance.
Um, I do tend to be a workaholic because I was grinding as if I didn't have anything coming from the environment I came from. But as I look around, like, I'm blessed. So yes, it's good to keep wanting more, but [01:01:00] you can't do it at the expense of your own health because health is the world wealth. Wow. So that was, that was one.
Wow. And then two family is the most prized possession in the world. And Tracy taught me that, um, that no matter what you can, you can lose everything. I mean, you can have everything in the world, but if you don't have family, whether it's the family you brought in, like your brothers and the tree, or it's the family that you, uh, that you are given through God and creation. No matter what that's, that's where the real wealth is at because wealth and Dame, uh, say this a lot. Wealth is in how much you laugh, not how much money you can hold on to. Wow. That's just rich.
Brandon Chastang: [01:01:49] That's just rich.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:01:51] But wealth is where you can have that, but you laugh at the same time.
Brandon Chastang: [01:01:55] Wow. I'm happy. That was one [01:02:00] of the deepest self inventory, that was one of the deepest selfinventory answers man. Um, what do we got? I know you had a book. We had a, we had a book. You already gave me the book. What's the name of the book.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:02:12] So I'm the author of a lot of books.
Brandon Chastang: [01:02:15] How many?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:02:16] So who I think is we up to nine now.
Brandon Chastang: [01:02:20] Nine books!
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:02:21] But we gotta, we gotta, we got a tenth one that's going to release. Um, and not this year, next year that I'm working on, but it's based off of some projects I'm working on to give back to the community. Um, but my book that a lot of people know me for is Growing Up GREAT: A Roadmap to, the GREAT, it's broken down, it's a acronym. So Giving, Receiving, Expecting, Achieving and Teaching.
Brandon Chastang: [01:02:47] Wow. Where can they find you at? Where, where, where, you know, any upcoming projects before we?
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:02:52] Oh yeah.
Brandon Chastang: [01:02:53] So yeah. Talk to me.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:02:56] Um, we got a documentary coming out. Let's go back to the middle of it. [01:03:00] So documentary, and this is for people who do not read. I basically took my life and put it on display in a video, in a movie format. So it's called Exploding Dreams Esteem Story. Oh, wow. So it was talking about my, my life, my 10 year journey from 2008 starting out in Oxford, PA to going to Oxford, UK. So that's like the play on words.
Wooooooo Okay.
So it's from Oxford, PA to Oxfore, UK because I think sometimes Lincoln university, um, thanking them for giving me, give them the blessing that they don't get highlighted enough. We saw it this past weekend. So I felt like it was my duty. My me being one of the, I guess, the celebrities on the camp of the campus, um, that I take my story and put it on film to let them know what Lincoln bread. It took two HB, two times HBCU graduate and I'm able to speak with people from Harvard, Yale, Princeton at one of the oldest English speaking institutions at university of Oxford.
[01:04:00] And we could compete all show that, you know, if you invest in, if you invest in yourself, cause that's, if you look at my journey, I literally, I always pride myself. I'm Blacker than Black because everything I went to was Black owned in some way. So I may not "I'm Black power," but if you look at my journey, it's like, yeah so I went to two Black schools on what the George Washington Carver, Black high school. So look at my journey. I'm showing you, if you throw out that movie, that documentary, if you invest in your community and your culture, this is what you can produce and be with the best of them and compete with them, compete with the best of, and still be yourself.
Brandon Chastang: [01:04:43] And still be yourself and your culture.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:04:45] You go, cause the funny thing is, man. You to see me talk, it would be like, but he doing that. Yeah. So I'm letting you know, you can still be yourself and do that and then at the end of the film, I [01:05:00] say, uh, uh, saying that I'm a platform, not a brand. So I don't want you to saying, Oh, he did it. No I'm putting on for Philly, Lincoln, Delaware State, being a Black male, being a young Black male, being, doing this at a young age, putting this on my back.
So when y'all y'all mean, y'all see me. There's no excuse. Y'all better do it. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it can't be done cause now I gave y'all the vision that it can be done.
Well, you definitely gave us the vision. You talking about graduating from high school at 15. Yeah. We talking about graduating from Lincoln university at 18. Yeah. We're talking about getting your doctor's degree at the age of 22 becoming a doctor and chemist. Yeah. Um, a professor and author. Yeah. You're 28 years old and you're still doing it.
Yeah, we got, I'm just getting started, man.
You're [01:06:00] just getting started.
And my next project, I think a lot of people gonna like this, cause this is really, um, for the community.
Brandon Chastang: [01:06:05] Definitely.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:06:07] Um, that I literally just launched a company, clean energy company so this is where I tell a lot of people. We, there is a wealth shift happening. So science now getting into the economic trend. There's a wealth shift happening going on. In that wealth shift, you seeing a lot of Black entrepreneurs coming in. I've seen them doing they thing, but I saw a niche that I carved out from my research, which was the energy.
That energy piece is, um, hopefully there's the market I'm in, the hydrogen market is I talked about, I didn't realize it was going to be a market til last year and this year. We're in a process and that's a $2.7 trillion market. We're trying to, well, my company, we're aiming to not only get into market, but create jobs [01:07:00] for Black and Brown, um, people, especially men, because as you know, Black men in the community, why they, why they hustle on the corner? Cause they didn't give them no opportunity.
Brandon Chastang: [01:07:13] Correct.
Dr. Jalaal A. Hayes: [01:07:15] That's why I'm again, trying to change that. So that's, that's what I'm working on. Um, currently and that's, and that's all out there. Um, the company that I'm working on now, but the movie to see how you can get it done, Explode the Dream Esteem Story, we're still working out the details on how we can, um, roll it out. I got some literally business tomorrow to try to secure some things, but yeah, just stay tuned for that.
Brandon Chastang: [01:07:41] Well, with that being said, thanks for listening to Self Inventory. My name is B McFly, top motivator in the world and your sober messenger. Lets go.
Self-inventory is a podcast produced by Brandon Chastang and Studio D Podcast Production. You can listen anywhere you get your podcasts. If you'd like to support the show, please subscribe, leave a review and tell everyone you know about Self Inventory.