Anthony LeCounte

High School Graduation Year: 2007
Year First Awarded the Carson Scholarship: 2000
Sponsored by: Carson Scholars Fund

Anthony Derek LeCounte, who goes by Rek, was awarded a Carson Scholarship in 2000 when he was in fifth grade. Growing up with his parents in the army, Rek moved through eight different schools before graduating from Mount Vernon High School in Virginia with an International Baccalaureate Diploma in 2007. He then earned his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Yale University in 2011.

After Yale, Rek went on to develop a career in communications and media in the Washington, DC area. Across different roles at multiple organizations, he learned the ropes of strategic communications, brand management, public relations, crisis communications and digital media strategy. He drafted news articles and press releases, led effective social media campaigns for major legislative conferences, worked with state and local lawmakers on critical policy reforms, secured interviews with major news networks, prepped for clients for radio and TV appearances, and much more!

In 2019, Rek left DC on a full scholarship to the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, where he earned his MBA in 2021 with concentrations in marketing and international business. While at Darden, Rek held leadership positions in the Adam Smith Society and Pride at Darden, and was appointed to the Charlottesville Minority Business Commission by the Charlottesville City Council, which elected him Vice Chair. He was also awarded the C. Stewart Sheppard Distinguished Service Award for service to the Darden School.

After graduating from Darden in 2021, Rek moved with his husband (who simultaneously graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law) to Atlanta, where he began the next stage of his career. He was recruited by Google for a role on the YouTube Civics team. As a Strategic Partner Manager, he worked with government officials, political candidates, and third-party organizations to help them develop their YouTube content strategy to be maximally effective creators on the platform. He later transitioned to an Editorial and Content Strategy Lead for Google’s Digital First Team and then was promoted to Communications Delivery Program Lead for Google’s performance management process.

Continuing his passion for community, Rek also served as Co-Lead for Google’s Pride@Georgia ERG, where he has represented Google at events with the City of Atlanta and been an active member of the Black Googler Network and the Google Atlanta office Culture Club. He also serves on his HOA and organizes events around his local community.