Giving Back is Michael Lillie's Trademark

The photo above is Michael Lillie showing the latest LLC certificate.

Giving back is Michael Lillie’s trademark at North High School. He inspires his students to find their talent and act on it while they are young. He helps them by urging them to take their talents one step further and start their own business, then he gives them scholarships to do it. The scholarships cover the cost to register an LLC business in Ohio for their start-up company.

As an added bonus, Lillie pays for the mini scholarships from his business profits.

“Everyone has a God-given talent; find it, and act on it as soon as you can identify it. If you find something you like and do it well, that is your talent,” Lillie tells his students. “It is your job to figure out how to use that talent and make a living from it because when you use your gift to make a living, something you really enjoy, it is not work.”

Their ambitions are many. They aspire to be chefs, artists and small business owners.

Others need a little help, so he recommends career tests that can help students find their niche. He also tells students to take electives that interest them that may not pertain to their major, just to explore.

“I was fortunate to figure out what I liked to do and do it as a hobby and then be able to monetize my hobbies,” he said.

He is a successful entrepreneur who enjoys teaching. He was the first African American in the United States to partner with Samsung to produce theme apps. He is an accomplished songwriter who writes the lyrics to his own music on apps. His company is MLII Productions LLC (https://mliiproductions.com/).

The app he created to pay for the mini scholarships he gives out is called Thank you North and can be found in his app collection (https://music.apple.com/us/artist/mlii/852155507).

Lillie is not part of any career pathway in the 840-student population at North but is a stand-alone teacher who contributes to the College Academy Pathway by teaching a credit plus college course.

“He is definitely an asset to the staff -- even-tempered, student-centered, and a big supporter of the students and their ambitions to start their own businesses,” said Principal Chuck Morris. “Throughout his room, you can see all the credentials students have attained while working with him.”

Lillie said his pitch for students setting up a start-up business is this: if you know you want to work for yourself and aren’t quite sure what you want to do yet, you can get your license and sit on it until you decide. You only have to keep $25 in the LLC you name.

He also helps students complete the paperwork by getting an EIN number, which is free and is like the Social Security number of your company. He said it is cheaper to register a company name than it is to buy a video game for the latest console platforms.

Lillie’s roots were in North Akron, where he was in the last graduating class (1978) at Bryan Elementary School on Charles Street, which is now the Oriana House. But, because of family struggles, he had to move in with his grandmother, who lived on the west side of Akron. He attended the former Perkins Junior High School on Mull Avenue and graduated from Buchtel in 1984. He was named the most artistic in his senior class.

“I was shy. I used to draw portraits and write poetry to impress the ladies,” he said. “I was a nerd.”

He recognized his talents but didn’t pursue them right away.

“My grandmother told me there were already too many starving artists,” he said. “She wanted me to become a doctor; but I can’t stand the sight of blood, so that wasn’t going to work for me.”

He also could have gone into politics. He worked for Upward Bound during the summers throughout high school. Upward Bound is one of eight Trio programs, federally funded and designed to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds in their pursuit of a college degree. He quickly moved up to the national level, which landed him a job in Washington, D.C. He also wasn’t interested in politics.

Instead, Lillie chose teaching. The first in his family to graduate, Lillie has a BA degree in telecommunications from Kent State University and a teaching degree in secondary education from The University of Akron, specializing in English and speech.

“If I can’t get anything else through my students' heads, I want to give them this advice,” said Lillie, who was told he wasn’t college material. “Don’t let others place their limitations on you when you know what you can do.”

He said, when he was in high school, he was told he wasn’t college material. So after he got his teaching degree, he ended up substitute teaching at that school and ran into the person who told him that. He was able to confront him and tell him he was wrong. Ironically, Lillie took an IQ test as an adult and scored 158, which according to the dictionary means he is exceptionally gifted, has advanced cognitive abilities, has a capacity for deep analysis and understanding, and can master complex subjects and various disciplines.

But Lillie said, for him, negativity has only been a positive reinforcement.

“My life has been, tell me what I can't do; and I will show you what I can do. That was my motivation.”

He developed a lot of his skills through trial and error. ”I don’t think I’m special,” he said. “I do things because I try. I take the initiative. You don’t fail until you quit. You’d be surprised at what you can do if you just try.”

In fact, Lillie is back in school. He is working toward a five-year certification license. He let his certification expire when he changed careers. He will earn it in May.

Looking back, all of his spontaneous and 11th-hour career decisions have been stepping stones toward better job opportunities.

While teaching at APS and working for The University of Akron, he was offered a full-time administrative position at UA; so he took the job at UA. It wasn’t a teaching position but one for an adviser, and the position was a slight pay increase.

Then things started getting financially tight at the university. He had gotten word that the university was laying off staff members and saw his name on the layoff list. Some of his tech friends urged him to look online at a position that Samsung was offering.

“I didn't think I was good enough. But, since I thought I was being laid off, I applied anyway; and I got the job,” Lillie said.

His theme apps with Samsung are on Black History including one on President Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King Jr. In all, Lillie has about 200 theme apps under his belt.

It turned out that Lillie was misinformed. He was not being laid off; and, when he turned in his resignation, he was asked to stay. His partnership with Samsung paid more than he made at the university; so he respectfully declined, saying he wanted to spend more time on his business. He agreed to stay one more year and continued doing his business on the side. The additional income allowed his wife, Liz, to retire from teaching early. They have one son.

In 2017, Lillie was able to walk away from The University of Akron. He continued to develop his apps and took a part-time job at Stark State University teaching a few technology classes, including web design.

Next, he was being recruited by Akron Public Schools. He was talked into teaching a summer workshop on technology. He was asked if he thought anymore about teaching full-time technology courses for APS and did he apply for the position that was available. So, once again, he was urged to apply at the last minute. The director asked him to have a seat and gave him the application to fill out before he could leave the office. He applied; and, after being interviewed, he got the job.

Lillie has seven class periods at North where he teaches three classes throughout the day: Business Foundations, Computer Apps (which is a college credit plus course) and Industry Credentials (which helps students learn about the retail industry, making sure seniors have enough credits to graduate). 

In one class, students were eager to respond to Lillie’s questions. He uses a large computer screen to match up retail business terms to the correct definitions. He keeps the class lively, recognizing the students' effort and hard work by using Viking Bucks as an incentive to give to students who answer correctly. The coupons are used to buy items in the school store, such as snacks. 

Lillie said some former students have come back to update him on their businesses: the graphic designer student on her art and the photographer. He said he enjoys sharing what he knows with students, and it is his way of giving back. He said it really is better to give than to receive.

“It feels good to be on the giving end because, for many years when I was young growing up, I was on the receiving end,” he said. “ I know how that feels, and I’m grateful. So now that I can help someone else, I just want to give back.”

The photo below is Michael Lillie teaching class using Viking Bucks.