PAUL MILLER ’05 (M.S.), ’11 (Ed.D.)

Dr. Paul Miller was raised in the most high risk neighborhood in Rochester. The odds were stacked against him - he lived in poverty, he witnessed domestic violence and drug addiction in his family, and every day needs, including food, were often scarce.

Miller wanted a better life, and he knew that education was the key to achieving that goal. He became a teacher in the Rochester City School District with a vision to improve the lives of young men and women like him through education.

After earning his master’s degree at Fisher, he was given the opportunity to lead Green Tech Charter School in Albany, New York. The all-male school is 97 percent black, with more than 90 percent living in poverty, a situation that was very familiar to him. “I am them, and I know that education is the best shot at changing their lives,” says Miller.

Since he took the helm at Green Tech, he has returned to Fisher to earn his doctorate in education and applies his experiences and knowledge every day in his interactions with his students in hopes to make an impact on them. The school boasts a 95 percent graduation rate and 100 percent college acceptance rate.

“Fisher did an excellent job at educating me,” says Miller. “I learned that when you connect social justice to academic prowess, you can really make change within your community!”