Artist Portrait
Jeffery Beckham Jr. is CEO of Chicago Scholars, a nonprofit that helps first-generation and low-income students get into college and land jobs when they graduate. The 40-year-old ex-tech worker also does social justice work, leads youth Bible studies and recently got into painting. He opened a gallery, 3262 Media Studio, last month in Bridgeport, where he lives.
Going from tech to nonprofit work isn’t a traditional career path. Was that always in the cards?
I never would have expected that I would be leading a nonprofit. I used to tell everybody that I was going to be the Black Bill Gates. That was always my thing. Whatever company I’m going to build, it’s going to rival Microsoft.We did a lot of work with all of the churches. We did the whole rebranding process for Trinity United Church of Christ after the Obama/Jeremiah Wright thing in 2008. We created a new website, new content, a new logo. We built a blog and a YouTube channel.
Portrait Service
The exit from the wedding ceremony is also called the “send off”, and often includes traditional practices, such as the newlyweds and the wedding party.
Does being a first-generation college student drive your work?
I literally am our scholar. I went to school, first in my family. I picked the University of Missouri because I visited on a warm winter day. It was 60 degrees in Missouri but it was minus 10 in Chicago. Got into Princeton. Mizzou gave me a full ride academically, but I picked it because of the weather. Chicago Scholars helps people pick the right school from a myriad of factors. Not the weather.
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How did you get into painting? I had a friend pass away from an aneurysm. Our last conversation was around how to manage stress. As I get older, basketball and running every day isn’t great for the knees. Art was something I always wanted to try. He said, ‘You should do it.’
For two straight years, the Phillies have used their first-round pick on a high school arm. They can now dream about pairing Painter with Mick Abel, last summer’s No. 15 pick. Abel is pitching well at low-A Clearwater, throwing a fastball that touches triple digits. Like Painter, he’s years away from the majors.
Creative
Designs
How did you get into painting? I had a friend pass away from an aneurysm. Our last conversation was around how to manage stress. As I get older, basketball and running every day isn’t great for the knees. Art was something I always wanted to try. He said, ‘You should do it.
The first piece was really bad. I was doing acrylic abstract stuff. YouTube taught me 90 percent of what I know. As I stuck with it, I got better. I have more than 900 pieces of artwork across the globe, in places I’ve never been. Germany, Poland.
