Organizations rooted in sports incorporate educational curriculum that helps participants be better prepared for higher education.
“The main way that we can help prepare athletes for college is to [make them] really good gymnasts, which means they are focused, and they understand hard work — all of the things that help them become good students,” says former rhythmic gymnast Wendy Hilliard, who established the Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation (WHGF) in 1996.
Based in New York City and Detroit, WHGF provides low-cost and free gymnastics classes for girls and boys 18 months and up. It trains competitive rhythmic, artistic, tumbling, and trampoline gymnasts. There are also reading and nutrition workshops.
“What we found is that the kids that we train do really well when they go on to college,” says Hilliard. “They also have something they can teach, instead of having to earn money with a minimum wage job.”
Access to sports
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Nzingha Prescod initially didn’t see many sports options, but at age 8 she found her way to The Peter Westbrook Foundation, which offered fencing to New York City kids. She discovered a love for the sport that led her to competitive fencing, Columbia University, international competition, and two Olympic Games.
