There are people in everyone’s life that make a deep impression. For Nate Williams, that person was Stan Deen. Mr. Deen wasn’t an ordinary high school teacher. He taught students about life and purpose, kindness and generosity, truth and reality. He looked out for his students and made sure they saw their own worth. Stan was known for drawing out the potential in others even when they didn’t see it in themselves. Mr. Deen’s legacy is told in the feature film BRAVE THE DARK.
Stan Deen’s story reminds everyone that you have to “brave the dark & let your light shine.” Darkness was all that Nate Williams knew. “After the death of my parents witnessed by me at age 5, I lived at a local orphanage, followed by various foster homes until running away at age 16,” Nate recalls. “My foster parents never came looking for me, or told anyone that I was missing.” Homeless at the age of 16, Nate lived in his car, hungry, using the showers at Garden Spot High School where he was a student. Nate turned to crime as a means to survive.
Mr. Deen was a charismatic English teacher and Theatre director who was full of energy, enthusiasm and optimism. Hearing that Mr. Deen’s English class was easy, Nate signed up. Little did he know the profound impact it would have on his life. After class one day, Mr. Deen offered Nate a chocolate bar because he knew Nate was hungry.
Deen used the Bible to teach literature and lived a life exemplary of its teachings, so it seemed very natural for him to go see Nate after being arrested outside of Stan’s classroom. Discovering that Nate had no family, Stan offered him a place to stay once released from jail. As Stan learned more about Nate’s troubled past, he realized how much support this young man needed. Stan vowed to be that support and care.
Brave the Dark & Let Your Light Shine
As the school community disagreed with everything Stan was doing for Nate and Nate trying harder and harder to push Stan away, Stan never gave up. He kept fighting for Nate until, overtime, Nate found redemption and healing. “Coming from a very dark past, I experienced a lot of loss and pain in life. I spent many years running from it. I had a teacher who was willing to help rescue me from this darkness. He showed me that facing my obstacles and owning all of our story can have a positive impact on the lives of everyone around us. He encouraged me to share my experience so that others might find hope,” Nate remarks.
Stan Deen helped Nate see that life isn’t about all that’s been dumped on you, but more about all that you give to others. Mr. Deen would end class by saying, “If there’s anything I could really encourage you all to do is have some visions and dreams for what you can become. Because everybody has been given certain abilities, certain talents and aspirations, and I would hope that you would use those to their fullest, wherever you go.” Education for Stan wasn’t just teaching students about academics, it was helping them to dream and aspire for something larger than themselves.
Brave the Dark & Let Your Legacy Live On
Nate goes on to succeed in life, finding his own passions and outlets. Through Stan’s support and network, Nate receives a job at Sights & Sounds, learning the behind the scenes magic of theater and film. In time, Nate tells his own story in this autobiographical film. “I want people to be inspired to be a ‘Stan Deen’ for someone in need. To take a risk, and make a personal investment in someone, committing for the long haul. Stan had a unique ability to make each person he encountered feel special and truly valued. He was a man like no other, and my hope for BRAVE THE DARK is to inspire others to be more like him,” remarks Nate.
Through the influence of Stan, Nate learned the value of a story, especially one about goodness and redemption. Through acts of kindness, love, compassion and perseverance Stan gave Nate hope. Nate isn’t the only life that Stan impacted, it’s for this reason that the STAN DEEN FOUNDATION was founded. Even though Mr. Deen is no longer a teacher at Garden Spot High School, through the foundation named in his honor, he continues to impact the lives of teens through education and arts.
