The following article was initially ran in Houston’s premiere newspaper -The Houston Chronicle. A weekly feature, Faces in the Crowd, selects one outstanding individual of the 4 million residents in Houston and highlights them and their exceptional efforts at making a mark and leaving an impression on the city.

FACES IN THE CROWD                                                                      November 3, 2004

Neal a public service announcement for teens

Filmmaker set to improve youths' perspectives

By MAURICE BOBB
Chronicle Correspondent

Adam Neal recently returned to his high school alma mater, Aldine's MacArthur High School, with a mission to show ninth-grade students in the Upward Bound Program that life is what they make of it with a film he made entitled Tower to Tower.

"I used to sit in the same classroom and not pay attention when somebody was up here speaking," said Neal to the group of chatty students. "So if you don't want to listen to me, that's cool, but at least give me the respect of not talking when I'm talking and I'll give you the same respect."

Neal, 28, knows a thing or two about respect. Growing up in Aldine near Bertrand, a notoriously bad street, he was surrounded by drugs, crime and violence. Because of his grandmother, though, Neal somehow managed to come out unscathed. But that changed when at 17, his grandmother passed away, sending him into a downward spiral.

"At that time, I was arrested by the FBI for counterfeit money I had when I was caught shooting dice."

Neal did graduate from MacArthur in 1994 and went on to the University of Texas at Austin, but not long after, he was back in trouble.

"Even though I came from one of the roughest neighborhoods and everything, I still got into one of the best universities in the world," Neal said. "But unfortunately, I brought the 'hood' with me. When I failed out of UT, I was too embarrassed to go home, so I started my old habits again."

At age 21, Neal was sentenced to 10 years in prison for four felonies, taking him from the famous clock tower at UT to the infamous watchtower at the Texas State Penitentiary.

"I went from one of the most esteemed places to one of the most wretched," Neal said. "It was definitely a contrast."

Luckily, Neal was released in two years. Newly transformed, he set out to make things right.

"When I came out of prison, I had a 'make it happen' mentality for life," Neal said. "It was unheard of, but I got back into UT and finished what I started and got a degree in film in 2002.

"I took on the rap name SaulPaul because of my connection with God, because in the Bible, Paul was called Saul before he met Jesus and he was this guy who did all kinds of bad things.

"But when he met Jesus, all that changed. He changed his name to Paul and became one of God's disciples. I can really identify with Paul's story."

Moved to give back to his community, Neal started ReRoute in 2002, a program dedicated to making a difference by changing the way disadvantaged youth think. The vision, Neal said, is to expose youth to successful people who have overcome similar obstacles so that they might realize their full potential.

"Unfortunately, my story is all too familiar," Neal said. "The difference is, the outcome was unique. So, I'm here to give back to show these kids that no matter what, you can accomplish anything if you get your mind right. I go to schools and speak and show my film because my life is a public service announcement. I make it a point to come back because if I can make it, so can they."

Tower to Tower paints a textured picture of the "hood" in which Neal grew up that was rich with pathos and struggle. The 35-minute long film is not a typical documentary, but more of an MTV reality show.

"The film is about me, but it has a lot of different characters," Neal said. "I shot the film on miniDV and shot over 42 hours of film for this 35-minute piece. What I thought would take two weeks ended up taking nine months because of the editing process."

MacArthur senior Juan Martinez said, "He kept it real and didn't sugarcoat anything. I liked everything. I could feel the film. It's like I know him now. That's how good he made the movie."

Although Upward Bound is a program directed at "at-risk" kids, it's a label Neal questions.

"No matter where you live, you're at risk," said Neal. "There's no such thing as at-risk. The choices you make decide your destiny. Whether or not you fulfill your destiny is up to you.

"What we do affects other people. I didn't realize that what I was doing when I was doing it affected my family, but it did.

"That's why I started ReRoute and that's why I'm showing this film.

"Now I can affect people's life in a positive way. This is my calling. I have to go and give back. I just recognize that it's a responsibility. Because if no one else will, I will."