Last Night several of Wheatley’s alumni were invited to a wonderful event sponsored by NIKE at the Hobby Center to celebrate the football legacy of Wheatley and Yates Turkey Day Classic games. NIKE treated both football teams (well over 100) to a program that featured several NFL players who gave their personal uplifting testimonies encouraging players to give their best in all of phases of life.
The most compelling testimony was given by Dr. Eric D. Thomas a renowned motivational speaker, author and minister. His speeches by Thomas have been widely viewed and are popular on YouTube. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in Detroit, Michigan; he dropped out of high school and lived homeless on the streets of Detroit for two years. While homeless, he met a preacher who inspired him to go back to school and eventually change lives. He also took a job at an Olive Garden on the westside of Detroit moved to Huntsville, Alabama, attended Oakwood University.
Thomas spent twelve years working toward an undergraduate degree at Oakwood and graduated in 2001. While in Huntsville, Thomas preached and set up a program to help underprivileged youth. In 2003, he took a job with Michigan State University (MSU) along with a fellowship to attend MSU to complete his master's degree in K-12 Administration with an emphasis in Educational Leadership. He worked as an academic adviser to disadvantaged students at MSU. At MSU, he developed an undergraduate retention program targeting academically high-risk students of color. He obtained a master's degree from MSU in 2005 and a PhD in Education Administration in 2015.
After the presentations the footballers, coaching staff, alumni and other invited guests were invited to a sit down bar b que dinner on the Hobby Center stage, it was an awesome event. My sincere thanks to Dr. Shirley Rose-Gilliam for including the PWHS Alumni.
Yesterday NIKE also hosted another Super Bowl Block Party for PWHS at Denver Harbor Multi-Service Center, 6402 Market Street. Story by Dr. Paul Joseph, Wheatley Alum and International Philanthropist.
No comments:
Post a Comment