Born in 1963 and raised in South Central Los Angeles, Darren Rockett had to step cautiously around the abject poverty, drug abuse and crime that surrounded his family’s home. Drug dealers and gangs claimed the street corners and alleys Darren had to walk past on his way to and from school each day.
Darren was raised by a single mother, a strict disciplinarian who kept a watchful eye on each of her four sons. Each son knew that the hard pull of an earlobe, if not worse, was not far behind if homework was not turned in or if chores were not completed.
If the boys failed to come directly home after school, they knew that Mom would find out where they had been. The sting of Mom’s switch might have been the most powerful deterrent to running with the wrong crowd. Darren kept out of trouble, and he stayed focused on turning his dream of becoming a fireman into a reality.
After he became a Long Beach firefighter, Darren Rockett heard about a countywide program called Rescue Youth that matched at-risk boys with firefighter mentors. Darren didn’t just sign up to be a mentor, he became a leading advocate for the program. He organized group outings and urged other firefighters to get involved. Long Beach Fire Engineer Phillip Gonsal called Darren “the face of the program for Long Beach.”
Darren’s smile, described as infectious and charming, made it easy for him to connect instantly with the young boys who were matched with him. A popular figure within LBFD, Darren urged other firefighters to become mentors, and they did. How could they say no? If Darren— now a married man, a father of four daughters and performing a demanding job as an engineer with the fire department— could find time to mentor a youth, certainly other firefighters could find the time.
Perhaps it was growing up without a father present in the home that drew Darren to mentoring.
Or maybe the lessons he learned growing up on the tough streets of South Central LA taught him that inner-city youth would turn to gangs if they were not exposed to a different life. Whatever the reason, Darren Rockett developed a passion for youth mentoring, and a culture to follow his example took hold within LBFD.
The Rescue Youth program, however, was run by the County of Los Angeles, and problems within the program caused it to close.
Darren stayed closely connected with the youth he mentored, but it was never the same.
Then the unthinkable happened. On Nov. 6, 2011, a few days before his 47th birthday, Darren Rockett succumbed to work-related injuries and left us. He was mourned by Antioch Church of Long Beach, where he served as a deacon, by his firefighter brothers and sisters, and by a community that recognized him as an extraordinary leader with a special gift to connect with and inspire youth.
The men and women of the Long Beach Fire Department refused to allow Darren’s special gift to inspire youth to end with his tragic passing. A new mentoring program dedicated to helping Long Beach youth based on the ideals of Darren Rockett would be created.
Partnering with the Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office and Long Beach Unified School District, the firefighters knew this mentoring program could be even better.
More youth would be served, including boys and girls from schools in close proximity to fire stations.
Curriculum could be strategically formatted in conjunction with educators.
When it came to naming the new mentoring program, many ideas surfaced. Everyone wanted it to represent the highest standards, reflecting the pride and passion that Darren Rockett brought to mentoring.
All nodded in agreement when the final name was selected: The Rockett Academy.
On Sunday, June 12, 2016, the Rockett Academy graduated its second class of seventh and eighth graders. None of them had ever met Darren Rockett, yet he had touched the life of each one in the deepest way.
