Will Dulin, a third-year teacher at Pathways to Graduation in Jamaica, Queens, plays two roles in his students’ lives: as their teacher and as a bridge. “I’m the link between where they are and where they want to be,” he says.

As a graphic design teacher in the Pathways to Graduation career and technical education program co-located with August Martin HS, Dulin always carefully considers where his students come from — and where they’ll be going when they leave his care.

“He takes kids who really struggle and uses whatever skills they have to motivate them to succeed,” says his former colleague and mentor Loraine Gersten, now retired.

Dulin, who was born and raised in Jamaica, Queens, took a nontraditional career path himself. He struggled in high school and bounced from college to college before finally dropping out and taking a job at a bank. A dedicated mentor at the bank recognized Dulin’s intelligence and drive and insisted that he reapply to college.

Dulin sees his current career as a way of paying it forward. He says his own struggles help him understand and connect with his students. “We serve a unique population,” he says. Many Pathways to Graduation students, he says, are new to the country or involved in the court system or have experienced a trauma or loss “that knocked them down and they couldn’t get back up.”

Dulin makes a point of connecting with students on an ordinary level — admiring a student's new pair of sneakers or asking if a student’s mother has returned from a trip to the Caribbean. “I notice them beyond the academic scope,” he says.

Dulin's colleagues say he continually seeks to develop new options for his students.

Two years ago, Dulin was trying to build rapport in a summer program that was primarily for boys with behavior problems. On a Friday afternoon, Dulin, who cuts hair as a hobby, asked his students if anyone would like a haircut. To his surprise, more than a few of his students accepted and, once in the barber’s chair, began opening up in a way they never had in class. “These were informal conversations about why they struggled with attendance, or family issues, or why they couldn’t afford their medications,” Dulin says.

The haircuts led Dulin to suggest adding a barbering program to the school’s CTE offerings, and now students can take a course to earn an apprentice license.

“At first, a couple of people walked out of here with bald patches,” he says. “But they got better.”

He says the school’s barber shop, Jack of All Fades, is not only where students learn to cut hair but also get a dose of camaraderie and support. Dulin has arranged for social and emotional workshops to take place in the barbershop while the facilitator has his hair cut. Dulin says the informal setting encourages less guarded conversation, which has improved students' engagement. He plans to add a hair braiding course in January.

Dulin describes the support he offers students as “scaffolding their dreams.” He recalls one student who struggled to pass the GED several times, and Dulin, who has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, drew him a cartoon of a literal path, breaking down the tasks he needed to complete in order to pass.

“Failure is only when you don’t try again,” Dulin says. After multiple attempts, the student finally passed.

At graduation, the student asked Dulin, “How did you know I could do this?” and Dulin replied, “Because I was dreaming for you.”