Rick Perez:  

Looking back at high school, now 25 years later, there is not a lot I remember outside of playing sports. I spent a lot of time playing basketball back then both in school and in the great public park systems. Like many hopefuls, I was going to be the next star player in the NBA so why the need to bother with anything else. I lived nearby in the projects and actually walked to and from school when I was not off in the parks perfecting my "skills" on the courts (lol). It did not take long after high school for the realities of life to sink in, so off to work "and" school I went. Miami Dade was the first stop after trying to get into University Of Miami to pursue a music degree. Though I never participated in the music programs at school or for that matter ever remember taking a book home to study, I thought I could explain my "story" to the admission's office at the U about not taking school that serious and they would understand and just let me right in. It did not work :( The 800+ SAT score did not help and neither my barely 2.0 GPA, so the nice people at UofM suggested Miami-Dade Community College. While a dissappointed, it was a wake up call. I registered and off to college I went. It would be 7 years later that I would finish college...No not all at Miami Dade (LOL). After receiving an A.A. at Miami-Dade, I went to FIU and received a B.A. in Business A...Expand for more