Growing up watching the Premier League, the person with the most presence was Gilberto Silva. He was everywhere in Brazil. His matches were always televised. He was the main figure I was following in the Premier League.

I thought about the problems I had growing up: how I prioritised football over school, but people were telling me I wouldn't make it, that it wasn't possible. The thing is, I did make it, thanks to my own will and determination and the help of some people I had around me in my hometown.

I want to evolve and improve as a professional.

When it comes to understanding how to talk in English about football, I always watch 'Match of the Day.'

Mary Jo and I have three teenagers who are in their last years at home. In addition, I was just offered and accepted a position with Williams College as a visiting lecturer on leadership beginning in February 2017, and anticipate accepting other academic positions shortly.

September 11 was horrific, but I've been through enough crises before that I had my own pattern as to how to collect facts, what a leader should do, how to communicate with people, how to set up operating mechanisms to work our way through it.

I think it is important to ask ourselves as citizens, not as Democrats attacking the administration, but as citizens, whether a world power can really provide global leadership on the basis of fear and anxiety?

I challenge the leaders of public education to stop issuing mandates from the state office and to focus on empowering schools and delivering resources to the school level.