If you hear a chorus of high school students chanting “RiZ!” echoing through the halls of the TGR Learning Lab, you might think you’ve stumbled into a concert before the headliner takes the stage.
In a way, you have. Except the artist they’re waiting for is also their teacher.
Just before class begins in the media lab, you’ll often find a line of students stretching into the hallway as if there’s a new pair of Jordans, the latest iPhone or free concert tickets waiting for them inside.
What awaits students on the other side of the wall is something much more valuable: opportunity.
“I’ve always wanted to record in a professional studio, but I never had the chance,” said Lucas, an Upper Darby High School junior. “This is the first chance I’ve had to really be myself. Mr. RiZ is somebody I look up to. He’s always himself, and he’s someone we can count on.”
That authenticity is exactly what unlocks Ronald “RiZ” Thomas’s power as an educator.
Ronald “RiZ” Thomas mentors a high school student during after-school programming at the Smilow Woodland TGR Learning Lab.
During the day, he teaches courses like Streamer’s University and Music Industry Lab, where students learn everything from audio and video production to the business behind the music industry. By night, he’s performing across Philadelphia as a recording artist, continuing to build the same career he introduces to students every afternoon.
For many students, that’s the difference. They’re not learning from someone who simply read about the music industry; they’re learning from someone navigating it. The Media Lab offers a glimpse of RiZ at center stage in his life’s work.
“Really, everything I do is rooted in my brand and life philosophy, iKonBy25,” said Thomas. “It all starts with learning who you are through both wins and failures, becoming an authentic representation of yourself, and then inspiring others to do the same.”
The conversations don’t end when class does, either. Students have created group chats to share new music, discuss artists who inspire them, and collaborate on ideas long after they’ve left the Lab. What begins as a class often grows into a creative community.
Recently, RiZ added another accomplishment to an already impressive résumé by earning dual master’s degrees from Lincoln University. While balancing graduate school, performing and teaching, he continued showing students what lifelong learning looks like in action.
His example reminds students that passion and education don’t compete with one another—they strengthen each other.
Every student deserves to learn from someone who has walked the path they’re hoping to follow. At the TGR Learning Lab, students don’t just hear about creative careers. They learn from professionals whose footsteps they hope to follow.
For more information on ways to mentor the next generation of professionals, visit Philadelphia.TGRLearningLab.org.
TGR Learning Labs: Where life gains steam
