Agency: Why He Took a $25K Job With a Harvard MBA with Ian Rowe (American Enterprise Institute)
Podcast: Going Big! with Kevin GentryPublished On: Mon Aug 31 2026
Description: What if the obstacles standing in front of a young person do not have to determine the course of that person’s life? Ian Rowe, author and senior fellow at American Enterprise Institute, has spent three decades working across education, philanthropy, government, and the private sector trying to answer that question. In this episode of Going Big!, host Kevin Gentry sits down with Rowe to explore his concept of agency: the combination of free will and moral discernment that allows people to make choices about the lives they will build. Rowe shares the personal story that shaped his thinking, including the moment at age 12 when he challenged his parents’ decision about his school and the later decision to leave a conventional career path after Harvard Business School for a $25,000-a-year position at Teach for America. Rowe also explains the four institutions he believes are essential to cultivating agency in young people: family, religion, education, and entrepreneurship. He discusses Vertex Partnership Academies, the first graduating class from the school he co-founded, and his plans to build additional virtues-based schools that combine rigorous education with career preparation. Listen to the full episode of Going Big! to hear Ian’s story and consider how we can help young people recognize their own agency, overcome obstacles, and become the architects of their own lives.
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