Andre Rhodes enjoying the Santa Barbara scene

Andre Rhodes is part of a SCORES tech support team run by SCORES CTO Pete Swearengen. As a Salesforce administrator, Andre works on the “back end,” supporting SCORES’ data management. SCORES uses the Salesforce customer relationship platform (CRM) to streamline, access, and strategically use the data pouring in everyday through multiple channels, including an app SCORES coaches use to record student attendance. Andre also supports engineers developing the attendance app in planning and testing new features.

A little over a year ago, Andre had nothing to do with tech at all. He’d been a server in the hospitality industry for several years and a musician, but he was in a state of transition and ready for a new step. Enter Santosh Mankala, a senior software engineering manager at Salesforce. Both a family friend and a nascent mentor, Santosh encouraged Andre to consider going through Salesforce’s free administrator training program. Andre leaped at the chance, training in his spare time while continuing to work a day shift as an in-home support service worker.

Through Santosh, Andre met Pete. For the last several years, Santosh has been helping to engage tech volunteers to contribute their engineering and computer knowledge to SCORES projects. Andre and Pete felt an immediate connection, and Andre quickly dove into supporting SCORES. Today he contributes 20-30 hours a week to help SCORES projects run smoothly.

We talked to Andre about a wide swath of subjects, including his personal connection to SCORES, the meaning of his on-home support service day job and his Salesforce role, and the advice he’d give his younger self. Here are excerpts from our longer conversation.

“Once you jump, you could end up flying”

— Andre Rhodes

On growing up:

I grew up in Santa Barbara with a single Mom. Things weren’t always the easiest. I played basketball from the time I was a little kid until high school. I would have liked to play other sports too, but there weren’t always the opportunities. I was also part of the band. I played clarinet from fourth to ninth grade. So when I look at SCORES, I see a familiar thread. It’s more than just sports – it incorporates other kinds of learning and expression. SCORES cares about who a child is as a person and what their background is. They care about how students express themselves and their ideas through poetry and art. When Pete told me all about SCORES, I said, “I want to be a part of this.”

I connected with Pete immediately, I love his energy. And I could see the possibilities of how I could help. I want to keep learning as an administrator, and at the same time, I want to maintain my humanity and creativity. This allows me to do all of that.

On taking eight hours to figure out a problem:

I can spend more time than I should on a problem, and I know it’s healthy to take breaks, but sometimes I just want to figure things out. It’s my curiosity! I worked on this one problem for eight hours straight. I didn’t even notice the time going by. I live with my mother, and she came home and said, “Have you gotten out today?” And I said, “Just give me thirty more minutes,” and that 30 minutes turned into an hour. But I wanted to figure it out – I was so, so close. And when I did figure it out after 8 hours, I was elated, so happy, and jumping for joy! Of course, we all need breaks, rest, and time to recharge, but sometimes I can’t resist.

On his work as an in-home support service worker:

A friend of mine went through burnout and several pretty severe years after 2020. She was diagnosed with a disability and needed an in-home help person to support her. She’s someone I care about very much, a close friend. I was working in the cheese and wine department at Whole Foods at the time and wasn’t the happiest. Around that time, I had started my Salesforce journey, and I was exhausted trying to both work full-time and study. My friend asked me to be her IHSS worker. I thought about what I really wanted and realized I’d rather help out my friend than work somewhere I wasn’t progressing. It was almost surreal the way the opportunity presented itself, but it’s been wonderful. I take her to appointments and help with tasks, and she’s doing so much better. I’m helping out someone I care about, and at the same time, she’s helping me by enabling me to help Pete and SCORES out. It’s like a whole circle of help.

On what he would tell his elementary school-aged self? (the age of most SCORES kids)

It would be the same thing that’s written on my wall: Just be happy. Do what makes you happy, whatever that is. I would tell that young boy to keep smiling, even when it’s hard. To that I say, keep smiling anyway.

I used to be that kid who was smiling even when my basketball or flag football team was losing. To me, it wasn’t about the win, it was about playing basketball. And smiling can be infectious. When you smile, you’ll notice other people smiling back at you. Those people are your friends. Don’t worry about the people that don’t smile back.

And I’d tell him about sincere appreciation and thankfulness for being here another day with the people you care about and can smile with. There’s energy in that, and it’s powerful, feels good, and is intrinsically motivating. If you can make your life your motivation, do that! I see living as my motivation and SCORES as my motivation because it’s motivating me to continue learning and doing new things. The unknown can be exciting.

On more wisdom, because Andre’s wisdom is spot on:

Sometimes with life, we don’t know what’s going to happen. But once you jump, you could end up flying. I’m in a very in-between stage in my life right now, and I’m in a position where I’m getting ready to jump. But I’m not scared or approaching it with fear. I know everything is going to be fine. The key is taking things with patience, having discipline, and asking for help. People who help you – like Pete and Santosh for me – are crucial parts of the journey. We all have our own journeys, our own paths, lives, and realities. We all take our own steps. But I believe with a strong sense of self-understanding, anything is possible.

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