Frankly, Quandre McCoy felt like a celebrity.

It was on a recent Saturday that Quandre, wife Tangela and younger son Queandre entered the studio at the Life School central Dallas campus, greeted by flashing bulbs and rolling cameras. At the request of the administration, the family sat down on a couch to field questions from the Superintendent of the school – the one that his sons have attended for 11 years, and also one that’s a proud Datamax customer.

The relationship between Quandre/Datamax and Life School? It goes both ways.

The questions, designed for an ad campaign for the school, ranged from what led them there, things they liked about the school, favorite moments, and their depth of involvement as parents and as students. For Quandre, who is just as likely to drop off a bottle of toner on campus as he is to drop off his son, it was a moment that was larger than life itself.

“I was trying not to stare at the camera the whole time. I was like ‘Oh Lord, they’re taking pictures and they’re filming!” Quandre said. “It was a great event, and we were proud to be a part of it. I feel like they’re helping me because of the education they’ve given my boys. I feel like we at Datamax provide the teachers and staff there the ability to do their job without the equipment being down.”

The Gratitude? It goes both ways.

Gratitude for Education.

Quandre’s oldest son Kameron was in public school the first time Quandre walked into the Life School campus as a Datamax employee to repair their copier. The feeling there on campus hit him almost immediately.

“When I went in there, for whatever reason I just liked what I saw. The people there, the way they embraced me. The conversations. It just all happened really fast. Instead of me just being a technician servicing copiers, it quickly became like I knew their family. They knew my family,” Quandre said.

As time went on, he met more people. Some, he also knew from his church. Others he knew from his son’s Boy Scouts troop. Eventually, Quandre knew at least a handful of people personally on every Life School of Dallas campus.

“We had seen a story on the news where people were literally camping out trying to get into Life School,” Quandre recalls. “But we put our names on the list for our son to start fifth grade there. They had two open spots that semester, and we got one of them.”

Both his sons have excelled tremendously at the Life School Oak Cliff campus. Kameron stayed on the AB Honor Roll and graduated High School with Honors. He also obtained enough dual credit to graduate with his Associate's Degree before he even earned his High School diploma. While there, Quandre’s family was instrumental in the school’s Band Booster Club, which his son was a part of through high school.

Queandre, now in 10th grade, is following in his brother’s footsteps. He’s also doing dual credit and in all honors classes. He’s been in the marching band since the eighth grade and plays safety and halfback on the varsity football team.

“His dream is to make it to the MLB. But school-wise, he wants to study engineering. That’s his vision right now,” Quandre said.

Gratitude for Partnership.

It goes without saying, but the relationship Quandre has with the staff at Life School is as personal as it is professional.

His son had a 6:30 football practice on a recent weekday. Since he was already on campus, Quandre walked in with a bottle of toner to give to an administrative team member. Everyone from the janitor to the Superintendent is likely to greet him in the hallway.

“Even though we have a personal relationship outside of work, I’m still representing Datamax. If they hear the word ‘Datamax,’ I want them always to feel good about it. It’s our job to make sure teachers are able to get documents out, that everyone there can fulfill the tasks they need to.”

Now as a supervisor, Quandre doesn’t make it out quite as often as he used to. But in sending John Granger out on calls, the trust and the gratitude remains seamless.

“Whoever I send out there, they take my word for it that they’ll be taken care of,” Quandre says.

Gratitude Goes Both Ways.

Quandre likens the relationship between both entities as “working hand in hand.”

“At Datamax we help them do their job. If they can’t do their job, they can’t help the kids. At this point, one of those kids is my own child. So it affects me both ways. I feel that we all need each other.”

And then, he likens it to a circle. If he’s in that circle, he needs Datamax for his source of income and well-being. Life School needs him and Datamax. If one piece is missing out of that puzzle, it affects the whole circle.

Of course, with so much gratitude – coming from both directions – that’s unlikely to happen. Gratitude, they say, has the power to unshackle us from toxic emotions to improve physical and psychological health. It can make you feel appreciated, more confident, and even motivated to do more.

It can even make you feel like a celebrity.