Rodney Small (BMgmt'15)
Executive Director, One North End
I was not just a number.
Focusing on his community Rodney Small (BMgmt’15) embodies the change he wants to see
Walking with Rodney Small (BMgmt’15) around the North End of Halifax is like being with the valedictorian or class president of a high school. Every person he passes gets a wave and a smile, and for many, he stops to have a quick chat about sports, family, or just to talk about what’s happening around them. Â
“I just couldn’t put myself first.”
Small is the Executive Director of , an organization that runs multiple programs that address systemic racism and multigenerational poverty experienced by the black community from Upper Hammonds Plains to the Prestons’ and everywhere in between. They have a satellite office in the YMCA on Gottingen, where they Partner with the YMCA to run the North End and another one in downtown Halifax. At times, four or five programs can run simultaneously, each one reaching out to help people overcome the injustice inflicted on them because of the colour of their skin.
When asked about his background, the first thing Small says is, “I grew up in a small community in the North End of Halifax called Uniacke Square.” You quickly learn he’s passionate about basketball and learned some big life lessons from his coaches. And even though he no longer lives in the neighborhood, this place is central to everything he does. Â
He’s also spoken publicly about his early years when he was selling drugs and making bad choices. But the one thing he says is that he’s always known he’s good at math and was a natural-born entrepreneur.
Small founded One North End after completing his BMgmt at Dal in 2015. His focus is on bringing organizations together to improve employment and health outcomes. “The data tells us that black and African Nova Scotians have the highest unemployment rates between the ages of 18 and 35,” he says. One example of a program is , supported by the Faculty of Computer Science at Dal, which helps individuals who have barriers to employment learn how to code. Â
Small’s journey at Dal began almost 15 years before his graduation when he received a scholarship to study commerce. The money ran out a year and a half into that degree, and Small said he needed to rethink his plan. He already had kids and was a couple of years older than most of the students in his cohort. “I had some decisions to make. I couldn’t just put myself first,” he explains. He chose to take a full-time job with the Halifax Regional Municipality.
The BMgmt brought it all togetherÂ
After seven years of working, he felt stagnant and unable to advance in his career, so he decided to return to university.
Consulting with an advisor in the Undergraduate Advising Office (UAO), he learned about the BMgmt, a program that wasn’t available when he was doing his BComm. Choosing to participate in the optional internship portion of the BMgmt, Small had trouble securing a position that was right for him. Â
But just as he was about to give up, he found a position at the Black Business Initiative (BBI), helping black youth explore entrepreneurship. That’s when he says, it all came together. “I really wanted to figure out a way to work in community. I realized this is perfect.”
Small sees direct correlations between his coursework and the work he does now. Some of his professors, he says, left a deep impression. “They actually cared about you. I was not just a number.”
“I’m a happy Monday guy.”
Small said when he returned to school, he knew it was the right choice for him and his children. “My mom wasn’t encouraged to go to university. She left school very early and went to work. But I wanted to encourage [my owns kids] and motivate them to want more,” he says, and that meant he had to show them how.
Almost all of his children are in the process of attaining their degrees, and Small is considering a master’s degree. But he’s not willing to quit work to do it. “I really enjoy and love what I do,” he says, adding, “I always say I’m a happy Monday guy, not so much a happy Friday guy."