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Help us raise $45,000 to support this artistic collaboration on the topic of mental health.
The freshman year at CAST Schools is a year of self-discovery. For the past four years we have partnered with author, Lorenzo Gomez III, to perform an adaptation of his book for all entering ninth graders. Tafolla Toro: Three Years of Fear, is targeted to young people grappling with issues of fear, anxiety, community violence, and more. The book – set at Tafolla Middle School on San Antonio’s Westside – features a series of stories, with letters to the author’s younger self. These letters offer new perspectives and ideas based on the wisdom of hindsight.
This year, the Charline McCombs Empire Theater is opening its doors to allow us to invite the community to the big stage in downtown San Antonio. We’ll be performing three shows, one for all incoming 9th graders across our six CAST Schools in 4 school districts, one for the community, and a VIP fundraising event.
Premiere for CAST 9th Grade Students
VIP Performance
Family and Community Performance
Help us raise $45,000 to support this artistic collaboration on the topic of mental health.
Lorenzo Gomez wants to dispel that notion for good. In his new book, Tafolla Toro, he reaches back in time to share stories of his turbulent, traumatic, and often violent middle school years in one of San Antonio’s most crime-riddled neighborhoods. He opens up to reveal the fear, anxiety, and hopelessness he felt as a teenager and how those forces shaped his life until he began taking steps as an adult to improve his mental health.
The great lie of our society is that mental health and mental illness are the same.”
Alternating between shocking stories from his youth and letters written to his 12-year-old self, Lorenzo shows young people how to retake the battle of their minds by dealing with what is true and dismantling the lies that lead to self-deception. In Lorenzo’s journey, readers will see someone who understands what they feel, knows what they’re going through, and is standing up to tell them: Decide today that you are worthy.
Lorenzo Gomez III is a community builder, author, and public speaker who draws from his personal and professional experiences to inspire others. A former director at Rackspace Technology, Gomez is a key player in the development of San Antonio’s downtown entrepreneurial ecosystem. He has spent the last decade dedicated to building institutions and organizations that have supported the creation of a contemporary community of technology companies. Gomez is the co-founder of WeTree, a new mental health engagement application.
During Gomez’s four years as CEO and four years as chairman of Geekdom, San Antonio’s premier collaborative startup community, Geekdom companies raised more than $422M in funding and its startups have created 2,489 jobs.
A trusted advisor to Graham Weston, co-founder of Rackspace Technology, Gomez helped shape Weston’s 80|20 Foundation, which invests in San Antonio’s future by issuing grants to public charities that attract, grow, and retain San Antonio’s future workforce and job-creating entrepreneurs. After co-founding the 80|20 Foundation with Weston, he served as its executive director for six years, during which time the organization founded Students + Startups, San Antonio Startup Week, and helped establish the UTSA School of Data Science downtown. He and other local tech leaders also founded Tech Bloc, an advocacy group for San Antonio’s tech economy.
Gomez has authored three books: Cilantro Diaries, Tafolla Toro, and The Rack We Built. All three are Amazon best sellers and the latter two are winners of the 2021 International Latino Book Awards. Cilantro Diaries tells the story of Gomez’s rise from the stockroom of a grocery store to the boardrooms of two private companies, without a college degree. Tafolla Toro tells the story of his turbulent, traumatic, and often violent middle school years in one of San Antonio’s most crime-riddled neighborhoods. He reveals the fear, anxiety, and hopelessness he felt as a teenager and how those forces shaped his life until he began taking steps as an adult to improve his mental health. The Rack We Built examines Rackspace’s growth from a scrappy startup to a billion-dollar technology company and the evolution of its legendary corporate culture.
Lorenzo’s driving passion is his love for his hometown, San Antonio, Texas. His goal is to recreate for every San Antonian the opportunities the startup world has provided him in this city on the rise.
The Three Years of Fear Curriculum Guide is intended for educators to incorporate the play and the book into your existing curriculum in a way that you see works naturally and meaningfully.
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The Centers for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) Network is a tax-exempt organization as described in Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Service code. CAST Schools are partnership schools with a focus on STEM careers, project based learning and work-based learning. Key partners include public school districts, higher education institutions, and local employers from target industries.