Prince's classmate: Do what you love, work at it, and share it

Prince, 1973 Central High School yearbook

A teacher wrote a note about her former Central High classmate, Prince, who pursued music relentlessly, often skipping class to do it, and reminded all of us of an important lesson: Do what you love, work at it, and share it with others.


Dear Fellow Educators,

I would like to share some thoughts about Prince that are relevant to us as educators, as I went to school with him and although I did not know him personally, I remember him.

As a kid, prince was short, shy and not remarkable looking. He wasn't as popular a basketball player as his half brother.

But he loved music, and he pursued it relentlessly (sometimes skipping class to do it).

Today is a perfect opportunity for us and our students to take another look at that person at school that we have been underestimating.  Look left, look right and look within and ask ourselves;  how awesome would it be if this person found something they really loved to do, worked at it, and shared it with others?  You don't have to  be world famous to have impact.

Love, work, share, be proud of who you are and where you are from:  these are Prince's legacies.

Oh, and the Music...

thanks for listening,
Jenise Doty

My Mom wrote this in response to the loss of Minneapolis' greatest musician and MPS alum. I think this sums it up perfectly." -- Mr. Corbin Doty, South High art teacher