. >>> our first speaker, randall stevenson, is a long-time friend and supporter of america's promise alliance. as chairman of at&t, the world's largest telecom company, he helped spearhead the mobile internet revolution. and he is passionate about education. under his leadership, at&t launched aspire in 2008. its $100 million commitment to high school success and work force readiness. now, we're all familiar with the statistics surrounding the dropout crisis. but it's good to be reminded about the young people behind those numbers. so before i invite him to the stage, i want to show you a short video about the way aspire is changing lives. ♪ >> half the people i grew up with aren't even in high school, or are dead. >> when people say, you went to blue, i'm sorry that people hear that name. they automatically think of death row and you're going to die. >> my mom is currently incarcerated. so that has been hard. >> i mean, you try, but it's hard to try to be a positive role model. because it's so negative. >> i refuse to be a statistic, another african-american female either pregnant,