Meet Andrew Snorton | Author, educator, and press/media advisor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andrew Snorton and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Where you are from along with your upbringing can make an impact on who we are today.

I’m originally from Illinois, but New Jersey (Morris and Monmounth Counties) is really where my foundation is established. I’m blessed to have parents who are actively engaged in my upbringing (along with my older sister). Thanks to their background in business and education, I can honestly say the following:

1. Education is emphasized as a means for my holistic growth.
2. Community engagement via church and community programs is engrained in our lives.
3. Sports (baseball, soccer, basketball, and track) are encouraged for physical fitness and team-building.
4. Cultural enrichment is another key part of our daily lives (music, museums, the arts, and general travel).

Combined with some truly amazing teachers (including, but not limited to the recently transitioned Miss Mastroianni, Ms. McAllister, Mr. Klein, Mr. Costa, and Ms. Bradley), community leaders (including, but not limited to Revs Hamilton and Johnson), and others, I’d have to say my time from K-12 truly sets the tone for me and helping me be who I am today.

When you consider the work I’m doing across education, press/media, and writing, those experiences and people play a part in where I am currently and positioning me for the future.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
While it is business, I truly consider the work I do as an art form.

To “move” across education, press/media, and writing, all carry art and creative tendencies and themes. The art of learning and empowering students (be it ACT/SAT prep to tutoring and student coaching), the art of capturing stories (ranging from being on the media lists for college/professional sports, members of US Congress, to working with businesses and events to share their stories of impact), and the art of storytelling (as a published author along with my audiobook series), are art forms in and of themselves mixed with professional and related integration of best and better practices.

Looking back, it’s definitely a journey in how I got here and where I’m still going. And while parts of the journey are straightforward, there’s a number of parts of it full of twists, turns, stops, starts, starting over, and still forging ahead.

Education-wise, it’s a transition from teaching middle school (Gwinnett County Public Schools – mainly language arts, social studies, drama/theater arts [for a brief time], and journalism [go figure since that is now part of what I do]) to taking time away to pursue other public-related interests (grant writing). What gets me back into the field and focused on coaching/tutoring to standardized test prep is a student asking me to tutor him for his SAT’s. That leads to me working with students in Metro-Atlanta and virtually and in turn, working with a few schools and community groups for related workshops and larger preparation.

For the press/media end, it started out of necessity. While being in-between jobs, I took on a writing position with Examiner.com for their online magazine series. From March 2010 until the summer of 2016 when they were bought out and went a different direction, my journalism skills are truly honed. In covering community-based organizations and dabbling with some arts/entertainment and sports, I improve my acumen to the point where I’m doing my own work along with collaborative work with the Status Network (via my broadcast of The Conversation Corner and special assignments), let alone the work I’m doing now.

As an author, it’s more of an extension of the aforementioned writing I was doing. It accelerated after reading Tyressa Ty’s book “Follow the Fiyah: For Ordinary People Chasing Extraordinary Dreams” (and talks with her) along with Darrius Gourdine which culminates to writing my first book in 2017 (Deeper than your deepest sleep: thoughts on love with Joseph Snorton) and from there, it takes a life of its own (4 published books to this point in time), including an audiobook series (The Author’s Mixtape, a mix of freestyle spoken word and music).

Even with help, it’s not always been nor do I expect current and future steps to be easy. One of the more difficult things to work through are periods of isolation, and this includes time you are working on your skills and related projects to people who don’t always understand (or try to thematically) what you are doing is aligned with your passion and purpose. At times, things do not go as planned despite the planning and preparation you make.

Having said that, what helps me overcome these hurdles clearly (and I mean CLEARLY) is my faith. I know there’s something higher and greater in store for me despite the negatives that pop up from time to time. I continue to learn and add tools to my toolbox (something I share with students when it comes to learning new things). I’m blessed with good people near and far, including people who may read this for the first time, and see something in me to where they’ll reach out and make a sincere suggestion which helps with my success. I take time to decompress via walking, reading (wow, an author who reads books by other authors – yes, it really does happen), cooking (let me get a hold of some salmon and seasonings and watch me work!), painting (many thanks to I Am Rooted for their collaborative painting series each quarter, #SipAndFlow), a cup or bag of really good coffee (including the collaborative #AuthorASnortonBlend with Fante’s Coffee), and spending time with those close to me (you know who you are, so thank you).

In a sense, what I just shared helps with learning lessons and using what I am still learning to help me get closer to where I’m trying to go. And in turn, be a resource for others just as those have been and still are resources to me. If anything, always remember to pause and reboot; you have to take time to slow down your moving parts and hurdles to your success to better physically and mentally “stretch” so you position yourself to clear them. Likewise, whether small or big, a victory is a victory; whether slow or swift, movement is movement, so keep it victorious and keep it moving.

That’s the essence and mettle behind my brand and the things I do within it.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First, it depends on the city (LOL)!

I’ll share Nashville and Atlanta, as these are two favorite cities of mine (next time, I’ll include a few more).

In keeping it simple for a weekend trip, here’s where we’d go (Nashville first):

1. National Museum of African American Music. This place is truly amazing and we’d need at least 3 hours there given all the interactive things you can do (along with catching a lecture, special performance, and related event).

2. Frist Art Museum. This used to be a post office and is a sneaky good museum for some great art and more.

3. Fisk and Tennessee State Universities. Just taking in the history of our HBCU’s, it’s a must.

4. Bricktops. This is one of my favorite restaurants in the West End within a stone’s throw of Vanderbilt University (I hate they closed the one in Atlanta). Try the trout as it’s really good along with some Kentucky Ale (if you are 21 and older for the ale).

5. Slim and Husky’s. Any of the locations as there’s nothing like a slice of #Pream.

I’ll keep the others in my hip-pocket (LOL).

As for being in the city of Atlanta (as there’s some great spaces in the Metro-area, but we’ll keep it city only for this time):

1. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center. The name and his story of impact tells it all, and include a stop at the old/original Ebenezer Baptist Church to get a sense of where it all happens.

2. National Center for Civil and Human Rights. This is another powerful space and place to learn of where we’ve been, where we are, and where do we go from here.

3. Kat’s Cafe. It’s an intimate space to catch some outstanding music and other events.

4. The Beverly. This is an underrated venue for catching a game, a good bite, and depending on the time of day, a sneaky good brunch.

5. Zucot Art Gallery. They have truly tremendous exhibits and more, so check them out any day, including a Saturday afternoon to take in some arts and culture.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are a number of people I can easily and readily acknowledge who I can truly shout out. I’ll keep it as simple as possible and acknowledge those from grades K-12:

1. My parents.: To this day, they speak life into me and the things I’m doing for my professional and personal growth. And they still do so for family and the larger community.

2. Group: The Monmouth County Cotillion Committee. Looking back, they provide me with one of my scholarships to help me with my collegiate endeavors. In being named king (in my senior year of high school) and given the tremendous talent, ability, and display of Black excellence, their investment in me helps make an impact and difference.

3. Organization: The PAC program at Monmouth College (now University) plays a role in learning and understanding technology (while it was learning BASIC and Pascal, so that lets you know how long ago it is, LOL), math, and a balance of academics and hands-on learning for your post high-school career.

4. Book. The Bible is an obvious choice, but outside of it, I’d have to say The Pond. My mother will tell you that’s the book that hooked me on reading as a 2 or 3 year old as I’d read it every day to the point where she tried hiding it from me since I told the same story time and time again (LOL, but it’s facts)! However, the consistency of reading helps with my writing, speaking, and years later, being a 4-time published author (since 2017).

Website: linktr.ee/authorasnorton

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Other: asnortonccs.com instagram.com/asnortonccs twitter.com/asnortonccs https://youtube.com/@creativecommunitysolutions6794NuZoz https://www.fantescoffee.com/collections/author-andrew-snorton-collection amazon.com/author/authorasnorton statusnetwork.net/shows/conversation-corner

Image Credits
Cover/lead photo by Kris10 Media EmoryRose Photography Andrew Snorton via CCSLLC