Greetings from StreetSquash!
Fall is flying by and our programs are fully underway. This month’s issue is devoted to our alumni. Some of them are back at school and others are acquainting themselves with postgraduate life.
They all have distinct experiences to share and we are very proud of their accomplishments and are thrilled to bring you their stories. We hope you enjoy them! Thanks so much for your consistent support.
Sincerely,
George Polsky
Executive Director
Contents:
1. Alumni Profile: Daequan Andino, ‘06
2. Alumni Profile: Ladonis Gaillard, ‘08
3. Prep School Alumni Profile: Raheem Logan, Canterbury School ‘11
4. Special Acknowledgments
5. Alumni Events and Accomplishments
1. Alumni Profile: Daequan Andino, ‘06
Hey StreetSquash Fans!
My experience at StreetSquash will definitely be a part of my life forever. When I joined the StreetSquash team in early 2000, I immediately knew my life would turn into this exciting journey of new adventures and opportunities. As I grew older alongside the program, I became more conscious of my future and what it would bring. As time went by, I began to watch the man of the hour, George Polsky, work his magic in developing StreetSquash. What impressed me most about George was how he consistently pushed us students to do well on and off the court. Witnessing how he interacted with the students in the program made me, as a StreetSquash participant, feel as though he truly cares about our lives beyond the program. Once, at Columbia University, I told George that I wanted to run my own youth enrichment program, and I remember him saying, “It’s going to be a lot of hard work, but I believe you can do it!” I was only in 10th grade at the time.
Along with George’s insight, Leah Brown, StreetSquash’s Program Director helped me understand the meaning of gaining respect and working hard to pursue my interests. When Leah started at StreetSquash it wasn’t an easy transition because my team and I were so used to the familiar faces around us. However, once I warmed up to her she became a permanent source of inspiration in my life! She was impressive because, despite her soft voice, she strongly guided us students in the directions we needed to go. Leah stood her ground in an environment where no one knew her, which has helped me in my current endeavors in the fashion world.
Currently, I am running a fashion line named Ay’Medici By D.S. Andino, which entered into the youth enrichment world in late 2006. I felt that an after-school program would be a great way to give back resources that aren’t commonly within the reach of young people. We created the Ay’Medici Fashion Youth Program, which is, not surprisingly, based in Harlem at Bread & Roses High School-the same building at which StreetSquash laid its roots in 1999! This program builds community support and installs dynamic experiences into its young people that will stick with them forever. My program focuses on merging fashion and life; it enables the young people to live free without stereotypes or prejudices about things like homelessness, drugs, sexual preference, and other negative influences they encounter everyday.
The program has done some amazing work with the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, American Breast Cancer Association, and multiple New Hope Church clothing drives. It has also participated in more than 45 fashion shows, 60 photo shoots, and plenty of internship experiences - with more offers to do exciting projects such as music videos, dance showcases, and acting showcases coming up this year. With opportunities in modeling, design, fashion show production, community service, academic enrichment and internships, Ay’Medici offers these students rare and valuable experiences. As of now, the program has served almost 70 young people throughout the city, and I am continually proud of its participants’ strong 100% high school graduation rate. Some of our students attend schools like SUNY Albany, SUNY Purchase, John Jay, and SUNY Delhi, to name a few. In the coming school year, Ay’Medici’s program numbers will double, and, with a waiting list of almost 100 applicants, my team and I are looking to expand programming tremendously.
When working with my students I feel like everything that I’ve learned from people like George and Leah is reflected in my own work. Ay’Medici encourages its students to help each other in everything they do; our team makes sure everyone is treated like a family member, a quality I learned from my time at and interactions with StreetSquash. As I approach my fourth year of serving students with Ay’Medici, I know that, without my time with StreetSquash, I would not be inspired to give back in my own way. Now, with a fashion youth enrichment program of my own at 21 years old, I know George’s words directly inspired something inside me to one day help thousands of youths to realize their own potential.
Daequan S. Andino
StreetSquash Alum ‘06
2. Alumni Profile: Ladonis Gaillard, ‘06
When you are an intern, what do you expect to do at your internship? Do you intend to do the basic things to get by or are you looking for something of depth, essence, and challenge? Through my internship at the National Development Council (NDC) working in the Grow America Fund (GAF) division, I learned to see the my internship experience as a job training opportunity, rather than just another way to make money. I learned that as an intern, you are rewarded based on conduct and how well you complete a task. Through this experience, I learned not only how to develop my skills as an aspiring entrepreneur, but I learned skills that have helped me to develop on a more personal and social level.
While I started off my internship doing basic tasks such as working with spreadsheets in Excel and making copies of files, my efforts to contribute more enthusiastically and take more initiative in my assignments resulted in more challenging projects and opportunities to learn as a true member of the team. My last project was focused around a larger initiative where I did not merely do tasks piece by piece, but rather saw how different tasks came together to make the project come together as a whole.
Overall the project was beneficial because it taught me how to organize data and be patient–because nothing that is worthwhile comes easy! Through this project I learned as an intern, I had the opportunity to show the employer what new ideas and suggestions I had to bring to the table.
On a more personal level, I learned several social skills that I can use in the work setting that I wish I would have known about previously. I learned behavioral manners while in an office setting, such as keeping my mind focused solely on work tasks and less on my personal email or cell phone. I also learned how to connect socially with others in the work environment as part of a team and learned how to be a good leader. At first it was hard to grasp, but in the end I believe I did well. I connected with people I will never forget and I learned from them with hopes that they also learned from me.
I now inspire to lead and lead to inspire. Through the different positions that everyone obtains, I know that they are all leaders, even down to the interns. My time with the National Development Council has been worthwhile and I’ll never forget my first real job experience.
Ladonis Gaillard
StreetSquash Alum ‘07
3. Prep School Alumni Profile: Raheem Logan
My Internship at Keating & Co this past summer was an amazing opportunity. The job taught me so many things and was a turning point in my life as I enter my final two years of high school. It gave me a taste of the reality of the working world, enhanced my ability to speak to others publicly, and taught me responsibility.
This internship showed me how tough the real world is going to be. When asking for donations for StreetSquash, I thought everyone would say yes because it was for a great cause. I quickly realized not everyone is so pleasant when you start asking for money. I was never used to hearing “no” a lot, so that was something I had to adjust to.
My experience at Keating and Co. increased my public speaking skills as a result of all the meetings that I attended this summer. If you are nervous and are not confident in the cause you are advocating, why would someone want to invest in your product? I learned that I had to represent StreetSquash confidently and just let strangers know what the program is and how it has affected us. While I used to over-think meetings and talking in front of a group of strangers because I thought they were extremely judgmental, I learned that in actuality they are normal people and all you have to do to impress them is be yourself.
The main thing that the internship at Keating & Co. taught me is responsibility. Whether it is showing up to work at 9 am, or making a donor letter at home and sending it out to as many people as you can, this internship taught me organization and balancing my schedule. Due to having this experience I know that in the future I will be more organized with my time and finishing my schoolwork. Before I was very disorganized, scheduling 3 things at the same time and making people angry when I didn’t show up to certain places. Now, I make sure I do not over-schedule myself and keep everyone happy. I also learned that I have to go to sleep much earlier to be able to make it through the day without going to sleep at work. I get up at 6:00AM to run and shoot around for basketball then I go to work from 9AM to 3PM. I used to think 12 o’clock was a good time to go to sleep, but I learned very early in the internship that I had to go to sleep earlier to get through the workday. I can’t watch my favorite TV shows, but that is a small price to pay when it comes to performing my best at work.
My favorite part of the internship was meeting all sorts of interesting people. I met Seth Bernstein, a successful filmmaker, who travels all around the world to make documentaries. Additionally, I met Francis Cuttita, who revises legal documents for professional athletes/celebrities, and some other amazing people. Francis works with numerous football players who play for the New York Giants and the New York Jets; he also works with Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Lopez, and other high profile celebrities. He told me and my co-workers something very memorable: athletes and celebrities are normal people just like us, but they can’t do normal things because wherever they go crazed fans or paparazzi will be there to harass them. He also gave us advice on life and pursuing your dreams. Francis told me even though many people along the way shot him down, he is where he is now because he stayed persistent. When he said this something clicked and that has remained in my head ever since. From this point on, I will just smile whenever someone tells me I cannot accomplish a goal and go even harder to pursue my dreams.
Overall I am very happy to have had the experience and I am pleasantly surprised by what it was able to teach me both in and out of the work environment.
Raheem Logan
StreetSquash Alum
Canterbury Class of ‘11
4. Special Acknowledgments
Congratulations to:
- Sonia Gaona, who graduated from SUNY Binghamton and was accepted into graduate school at Fordham University, CUNY Hunter College, and Brooklyn College for School Counseling! Sonia plans to attend Hunter College. We wish her the best in pursuing her master’s degree!
- Sade Watts, who received a full-time position after completing her externship for her medical technician degree at Sanford Brown!
- Davian Suckoo for graduating from University of Buffalo with a degree in Business Administration!
- Daequan Andino for graduating from the Art Institute of New York!
5. Alumni Events and Accomplishments
Alumni Events:
After realizing several of our alumni have been struggling with debt and paying off school loans, the StreetSquash Alumni Outreach staff decided to take matters in their own hands and find a way to educate the alumni in dealing with these stressful matters. Led by Mr. Ricardo Smalls, accountant and financial advisor, StreetSquash hosted a financial education and debt workshop for the alumni in early July. The event consisted of Mr. Smalls explaining how to save money, how to pay of student, car and housing loans, and how to avoid the horrors of credit card debt. The 20 participating alumni were able to ask their personal questions and receive Mr. Smalls’ guidance. Following the event, the alumni enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner and were able to catch up with old friends from StreetSquash!
In the month of August, StreetSquash’s alumni outreach program hosted three events in a row in order to raise funds for StreetSquash. First, the alumni got together to host a phone-a-thon held at the building to inform individuals of StreetSquash and ask for donations. Our second event was a Squash Clinic held at the SL Green StreetSquash Center in which StreetSquash Alumni provided one on one instruction to our guests, challenged each other to matches, and had a full day of fun. Finally, our last event, the cocktail benefit, was a great success. We hosted 30 people for an evening of wine and food prepared by our culinary student alumna, Cequidra Davis.
The evening was quite fruitful in bringing the alumni back together again and motivating their efforts to participate in the alumni board and kick of the year with the alumni outreach program. With their efforts combined, the alumni were able to raise a total of $240! Special thanks to all of the alumni, families, YLC members, and friends who participated in planning, attending and donating to our events. You generous efforts have not gone unnoticed.
Alumni Board:
Daequan Andino ‘06 has spearheaded a new committee of alumni to fulfill the mission of giving back to StreetSquash and its current students by creating special events for raising money and raising awareness of the alumni accomplishments, and encouraging alumni to volunteer their time mentoring and reaching out to the current students at StreetSquash by sharing their experiences. Currently the Alumni Board consists of 5 members and is looking for 5 additional alumni to join the team. Please contact Daequan Andino (daequan.andino@gmail.com) or the Sheena Loughlin (sheena@streetsquash.org), Director Alumni Outreach at StreetSquash for more information and an alumni board application.