In 2005, Aaron dropped out of college and responded to Hurricane Katrina with the Red Cross. Later that year, he took is first job in construction as the least skilled worker at a day labor company. Since then, he’s been an AmeriCorps NCCC member, a construction supervisor with Habitat for Humanity, a student at Tulane University, and a teacher through Teach For America.
Today, he’s bringing those experiences together through unCommon Construction, and is most proud of the fact that he hasn’t paid for a haircut in nearly 10 years.

impact

During the Accelerator Program, unCommon Construction engaged 100 youth through pop-up shop class sessions and on-site build days. uCC also executed a first round of fundraising through a successful Indiegogo, raising $20,275 through more than 200 individual contributions, and was selected as the sole grantee of $10,000 by the Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans (EPNO) Education & Youth Development Team . Most significantly, uCC completed its pilot program, hiring 10 Apprentices from four New Orleans high schools to earn hourly pay and school credit for building a house from start-to-finish in a semester.