VOICES OF TENACITY
Yves SingletaryASEP Alumni, Class of 2003
I graduated from Tenacity’s After School Excellence Program in 2003. Now here I am in 2008 and Tenacity continues to be an active part of my life. Most people have one family; I am lucky enough to have two. When you become a part of Tenacity you become part of a family. The staff are like my aunts and uncles; whenever I have a problem or need help there is always someone available.
I have met some of my closest friends through Tenacity, and to this day I still stay in touch with them through AIM, Facebook, and some alumni events during the year, and during the summer when we all are back in town. A lot of us work for Tenacity’s Summer Tennis & Reading Program during the summer time. I have been worked five summers as a tennis instructor for the program and I just finished my second year as Co-Site Leader with Ben Cohen over at Malcolm X playground,. Two summers ago, we were both new high school graduates going into the summer as first time site Co-Site Leaders. Neither of us knew what to expect but we rose to the challenge and ended up having such a great summer that we decided to do it again. (read our blog http://tenacity08.blogspot.com/ ).
Through Tenacity, I also got my first non-Tenacity job, working with the Harvard Men’s and Women’s tennis teams, filming and analyzing their matches utilizing a software program called Dartfish. It has been an enjoyable experience working hand-in-hand with both coaches and players, many of whom have become good friends of mine. I gained a lot of skills from this job and now apply my talents to creating and editing videos of Tenacity programs and events. It’s one way that I like to give back.
Whenever I get the opportunity I also like to go back and help out at ASEP sites. Since the kids are not too far from my age, a lot of them are able to relate to me. Some of them may not have a male influence in their life and i feel honored that I can be that positive male influence and they feel comfortable enough to reach out and talk to me.
Today, here I am at age 19 and Tenacity continues to help support me through life, most recently with the college transfer process. The Alumni Services Program was there to help me step by step, from reading and editing my application essays over and over again, to taking me on campus tours. Every now and again, they even gave me a motivational talk, reminding me that if I just kept working hard, I would reach my goals. Here’s the good news: I got accepted as a transfer student to Springfield College!!
Now I am a sophomore at Springfield where I am studying Youth Development and working toward making my dreams come true. In the future I hope to open up my own non-profit and help make a difference in people’s lives. One thing that I have learned from my experience with Tenacity is that everyone in this world has a role to play and no one role is more important than another. In order for us to make this world a better place we all have to do our part and give support to those who may not be able to help themselves or to those who may need just an extra helping hand. The “small” things are usually what make the largest impacts on people’s lives.
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