Our MissionOur mission is to empower inner-city youth by providing a unique opportunity to work with high achieving collegiate student-athletes both inside and outside of the classroom. Our StoryA Year to RememberThe sun beamed down to warm the Columbia football field on Friday April 30th as the 6th graders from Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School orderly marched into the stadium to spend an afternoon in celebration of a successful founding year of Level The Field. After a warm welcome from Ms. Woda and her staff, the 6th graders split into their crew classrooms and were joined by the Columbia athletes, who had been visiting them each week for the past semester. With hugs, high fives, and smiles all around, it was evident that connections had been made in the classrooms, during the clinics and at the games throughout this past year. I sat in a circle on the turf with my crew, which evenly divided up the pizza we were graciously provided. Steven poured drinks for those around him while James boldly took responsibility for the cleanliness of our area after finishing the food. When our crew teacher Mr. Newlin claimed he was 68 years old, a lively debate sparked among the students of how to go about proving his actual age, leading them to ask such questions as "Which president was in office when you were born?" and "Were your baby pictures in black and white or color?" As Idelca passionately argued her case with the other students, I saw a future lawyer, one whom I certainly would never want to come up against in court. |
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