Wheels were turning after Deatrich Wise Jr.'s first encounter with Taisha Crayton – the associate director of economic inclusion and diversity at Harvard University.

Acquainted thanks to a mutual connection in retired Patriots safety Devin McCourty, the New England defensive lineman shared his vision for a program that could show underserved Boston youth what a career in trades could offer them. With Crayton's background in construction, business development, and philanthropy, their ideas couldn't have been more aligned.

In the years since that first encounter, a successful pilot program at the Josh Kraft Mattapan Teen Center evolved into a six-week, expert-led program called The Bridge 2 Trades. It's one of the handful of events and programs held by the Wise's Wise Up Foundation, but arguably the most impactful.

Crayton is now the director of The Bridge 2 Trades, and as a thanks for all her hard work, Wise chose to send her to Super Bowl LIX through his platform as the Patriots' nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.

"He is doing amazing work and he's always thinking out of the box, always thinking about what more he can do and what more we can do together," Crayton said of Wise, a few days before she was surprised after New England's Week 18 win over the Buffalo Bills with Super Bowl tickets.

"As a leader, it's important for you to embrace your team and know that your team is really supportive of what the mission is and the focus and goal is. I don't play on the Patriots, but I see him play and I know he's a captain, but he's not just like that on the field. He's also like that with the work he's doing in the community. Whether he's in the front or back of the room, it doesn't matter. That's not his goal for his face to be seen. His goal is for people to be impacted and supported in a way they've never been before."

Crayton has long known the importance of having a support system like this. To be something, you first need to see it.

The Dorchester native, born to a teen mom, never knew her father and was raised in Section 8 housing. It wasn't until she began working that she met a woman who would become a cherished mentor, showing her the path to owning her own home.

"I didn't want my daughter to have to live the way I lived, but I didn't know how to get out of it," Crayton said.

"I didn't know anyone around me who owned a home. My mom didn't, my grandmother didn't. The only thing I knew was how you get on Section 8 because that's what everyone around me did. So when I met her and she took me under her wing it was about business at first, but then when I showed interest in all that, she was checking up on me to make sure I was working on my credit score and calling mortgage companies."

Crayton bought her first home at just 21 years old. Her grandparents eventually bought the other side of the duplex. The chain reaction continued.

"They still own it to this day," Crayton said proudly. "And they had never owned a home before that, so that's what I mean when I say mentorship and change generations. That woman's mentorship didn't just change my life, it changed my grandparents' life. My sister has owned her home for over 20 years now. My uncle owns his home now. Her helping me helped my whole family."

With The Bridge 2 Trades, Crayton and Wise are having a similar effect.

Paying for college without getting into debt has long barred underserved students from higher education, and it's only gotten worse with starting salaries and current job markets not justifying the continued rising tuition costs.

This program's mission, however, molds a pathway for Boston-area high school students to gain exposure and experience in skilled trades careers, equipping them with industry insights, financial education, and resources that show them the practicality, affordability, and stability of these vocations.

Youth participants learn about various trades, hear from union leaders, and are taught about budgeting, personal finance, resume building, and even mental health during their time with Bridge 2 Trades.

"The Bridge to Trades is a bridge to trades, yes, but it's also a bridge to creating the best opportunity possible for yourself," Crayton said.

"What we try to teach them is that once we take them and place them in an environment that's going to help them understand the journey, they're able to make a decision, but at first options are limited because you don't have the knowledge or access to the opportunity to show you there's more to life than where you are now. A lot of that really helps. The trades are the trades. HVAC is HVAC. Electrical is electrical, and plumbing is going to be plumbing. The hardest part is showing up, and that's what we teach them."

Just like with her own story, Crayton and Wise have seen the program have a positive trickle-down effect.

Just by sending their children to the program, parents themselves have become inspired. Crayton shares one story of a father who dropped his son off one day but never left, taking in a presentation from the back of the room.

The son later relayed to Crayton that his father was looking into a career in HVAC.

It's not just students and their families getting inspired, either. National general contracting companies so moved by the work of Bridge 2 Trades have, in one case created jobs for students who participate in the program.

"It's changing generational challenges," Crayton said.

"When you give people access to not just the opportunity, but even just to open their eyes to the possibility of an opportunity that they didn't know existed, that's when you begin to change the path of generations to come."

Learn more about Bridge 2 Trades, the Wise Up Foundation, and vote for Deatrich Wise Jr. for Walter Payton Man of the Year.