Get Good Grades and Get Your Act Straight!

The topic of our next presentation at Dobie was sports, the importance of going in for sports, and being fit.  A lot of research has shown that joining a sports team at an early age can save kids from getting into trouble during the afterschool hours, it also has a lot of health and social benefits (see previous blog entry). 

And since none of us – Stephanie, Anna, and me – are really active in sports, we decided to have a guest speaker, a student from UT. It would be another opportunity for the kids to interact with a college student, to learn more about college life, and, of course, his/her experience with sports. This could also show the kids that going to college for them could be a reality – o a sports scholarship.  We knew that for many of those middleschoolers, college is not something widely discussed in their families, and most of their parents or other relatives do not have college education at all. So having a UT student talk to the class could become another good seed planted in the kids’ minds.

Our fellow LBJer Phillip Nevels and his friend Marlon, also UT student, agreed to be the guest speakers and talk to the kids.  The guys were a perfect fit. Phillip Nevels earned an football scholarship to attend the University of Louisiana Lafayette where he was the Team Captain and graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biological Anthropology. There he graduated Magna Cum Laude, was honored as the University most Outstanding Graduate in the College of Liberal Arts, and was President of multiple organizations.  Marlon Bright played basketball at Florida International University where he was recently named Team MVP and awarded the Sporting Behavior Award which is based on outstanding leadership, achievement in the classroom, and commitment to the community. He served as both a member of the Executive Board and then as President of the FIU Chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. Under his leadership the chapter worked with other service organizations and local community groups to clean rehabilitate local landscapes, support basic operations at the Ronald McDonald House, and fundraise on behalf of the American Cancer Society.  With such a background in sports, strong educational performance, and outstanding leadership experience, Phillip and Marlon could become great role models for the Dobie kids.

The presentation went really well. We had a better turnout than usual – 6 kids showed up this time, and we thought it was a good start. What started out as a presentation, gradually turned into a discussion and a Q&A session. Phillip and Marlon told the kids about themselves, their sports achievements, experience as college students, and, more importantly, about the goals they want to accomplish and principles they follow in life. They talked a lot about the importance of doing good at school – starting right now, in the 6-7^th grade, about making the right decisions, pursuing higher education in a university, and eventually getting a great job. It was amazing, and it seemed that the guys were talking right to the kids’ hearts. They were speaking in a simple language, sharing a lot of examples from their own lives – and that’s what grabbed the kids’ attention instantly. The middleschoolers were sitting quietly, listening attentively to every single word that Phillip and Marlon were saying, and it was obvious that they would remember this day and what the guys talked to them about for a long-long time.

After the presentation, we went outside to play ball. It was a lot of fun to interact with kids in the non-academic atmosphere, listen to their fun stories from their lives, and just enjoy the warm sun.