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Andre Alexander

Met: June 2, 2025 at Alexander family home Role(s): Son of Lael and Lakeida Alexander, Musician, Film School Graduate Last interaction: June 2, 2025

Contact Information​

  • Lives with family in Jenks, Oklahoma
  • Works part-time job (picked up extra shifts during visit)
  • Access through family connections

Personal Background​

  • Son of Lael and Lakeida Alexander
  • Film school graduate (Toronto Film School)
  • Multi-talented artist with interests in music, visual arts, theater, and fashion design
  • Part of large family (8 children total)

Artistic Background and Talents​

  • Music: Self-teaching guitar and bass, purchased first guitar as "first big purchase I ever made with my own money"
  • Theater: "Did theater all through high school"
  • Visual Arts: Painting and sketching abilities
  • Fashion Design: Early interest in fashion design before shifting to other arts
  • Multi-Disciplinary Approach: "Because I'm doing everything at once. It's like, I gotta delve out my own time for it"

Musical Journey​

  • Current Learning: Focused on mastering guitar fretboard and major scales
  • Learning Style: "I hear it in my head first, and then I just, it's the finding it and matching it rather than the technical things"
  • Progress Timeline: Started seriously learning about "a year and a half ago" after having guitar for longer
  • Educational Regret: Left choir in fifth grade due to bad teacher experience - "That's, like, my favorite flaw. I regret that decision"
  • Goal: Expects to be "really good at it" by end of current year

Educational Experience​

  • Toronto Film School: Recent graduate
  • Gary's Assessment: "The institutions that are known as good institutions need to be completely rethought"
  • Diverse Interests: Shows pattern of exploring multiple creative disciplines

Work Experience​

  • Currently employed in service industry (picked up extra shifts to reach "30 hours this week")
  • Balances work with artistic pursuits and family time

Family Dynamics​

  • Lael's Assessment: All his children are "punks" (in positive sense) who "get excited" but prefer to work "in their own time" and "don't want the help"
  • Creative Independence: Represents family pattern of self-directed learning and artistic exploration
  • Supportive Environment: Family recognizes and nurtures his diverse artistic talents

Personality & Learning Style​

  • Self-Directed: Prefers learning at own pace without formal instruction pressure
  • Multi-Talented: Natural ability across various creative disciplines
  • Practical: Balances artistic pursuits with work responsibilities
  • Resilient: Learned from negative educational experience (choir) and continued pursuing music independently

Creative Philosophy​

  • Intuitive Approach: Relies on internal musical sense before technical knowledge
  • Integrated Arts: Sees connections between different creative disciplines
  • Patient Development: Willing to take time to properly develop skills

Potential Collaboration Areas​

  • Music Education: Could contribute to alternative educational models that honor individual learning styles
  • Creative Arts Integration: Represents model of multi-disciplinary artistic development
  • Family Educational Ventures: Potential role in Alexander family educational initiatives
  • Cultural Projects: Could contribute to music/arts components of larger cultural ventures

Interactions​

  • June 2, 2025: Met during Gary's visit to Alexander family home. Discussed his musical journey, educational background, and artistic development. Demonstrated guitar skills and shared insights about self-directed learning approaches.

Notes​

Andre represents the Alexander family's approach to nurturing individual talents while maintaining family cohesion. His experience leaving formal music education due to poor teaching, then successfully returning to music through self-directed learning, provides valuable insights for alternative educational models.

His multi-disciplinary artistic background (music, theater, visual arts, fashion) aligns with the Alexander family's comprehensive approach to skill development. His current focus on mastering guitar while balancing work responsibilities demonstrates practical application of the family's "work on your own time" philosophy.

Andre's story provides case study for how talented individuals can thrive outside traditional institutional frameworks when given supportive family environment and freedom to pursue learning at their own pace.