Jarmaine Ollivierre
Today, Jarmaine Ollivierre is an aerospace engineer at NASA, and a cum laude graduate from Tuskegee University with a dual bachelor’s degree in physics and aeronautical engineering. He also has a master’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida.

But in the fifth grade, he was a special education student living in a West Philadelphia neighborhood where the high school graduation rate for the class prior to his was only 26 percent. Jarmaine’s mother, Patricia, the bedrock of his life, and he says, the source of his motivation, was a single parent who worked two jobs to support her three children (Jarmaine, his older sister, Marian, and an older brother, Michael, who was born with hydrocephalus and needed round-the-clock care).

So how did Jarmaine defy the odds to become one of Say Yes’s exceptional success stories? He credits his accomplishments to George Weiss saying “YES” to his education.

Patricia A. Ollivierre had no idea that by successfully advocating for Jarmaine to stay at the Belmont Elementary school after 5th grade (Belmont had a stronger special-ed curriculum than did his neighborhood school), she was inadvertently putting her son into what would soon become the first Say Yes group – 112 students who were promised a free college education if they graduated from high school. Upon learning of the Say Yes promise, Ms. Ollivierre was stunned at the enormity of the gift. Eventually she saw the offer as a gift from God.

Say Yes, recognizing Jarmaine’s talent, quickly arranged a wide range of supports for him. They recommended Jarmaine for a prestigious summer program at the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked with a physics professor on robots and programming. They also arranged for SAT tutoring, urged him to maintain a strong GPA, and connected him to a series of important mentors, including Kevin Mahoner, Robert Bright, a graduate of the Wharton School of Business, and Mike Clemens, who worked for Boeing and gave him insight into the working life an engineer.

Thanks to Say Yes, his mother’s unwavering belief in him, and his own determination, Jarmaine graduated from high school and then applied and was accepted to Tuskegee University in Alabama, where he earned a double degree in aerospace engineering and physics on a Say Yes scholarship, carrying an impressive eighteen credit course load every semester. After college, Jarmaine spent two years working in Salt Lake City before landing his current position at NASA in Houston, Texas. He also earned his master’s degree.

Jarmaine says that the contribution Say Yes has made to him has been “immeasurable.” “Without their support, the road would have been a lot harder, definitely,” he adds. And that road is far from over. His mother has urged him to get an M.B.A. or Ph.D. in aerospace engineering. “By the time he’s 35, I’d like him to be able to write his own ticket,” she says. “I always tell my children: “I’ve given you the best I have. You give yourself more.”

Jarmaine, who remains very close to his family despite living in Houston, Texas, recently demonstrated the depth of his commitment to them by volunteering to donate a kidney to his older sister, Marian, who was struggling on dialysis. Since the surgeries, both Marian and Jarmaine have made a full recovery and are doing well. Jarmaine remains in close contact with his mother and siblings, as well as with Mr. Weiss, to whom he is forever grateful.

The graduation rate for Jarmaine’s class in Say Yes’ Belmont group was 62 percent, compared to 26 and 28 percent graduation rates, respectively, for non-Say Yes students the year before and the year after (1992 and 1994).