A Little Bit About My Trip!

Hi everyone! I am writing to you as I am eagerly anticipating leaving for Vietnam! This is probably the most formal post I will have on my blog...The rest will probably be a lot more exciting (and blunt) as I tell all of you the details of my adventure :) I've heard the internet is pretty sketchy in Nam, but I will do my best to keep everyone in the loop and blog as much as I can! Feel free to email me too! I will be in Vietnam from July 23-August 16 and my email address is: jsg7b@virginia.edu. Here is a little bit more information about my program:

Coach for College is a new program that will be giving me the opportunity to use sports to foster good will with other nations and to promote higher education in developing countries. This program is made available to NCAA Division 1 Athletes at four universities: UVA, UNC, Duke and Virginia Tech. Coach for College was designed by Parker Goyer, a 2007 Duke graduate and former member of the Duke Women’s Tennis Team. The program, which is part of Duke University’s Center for Civic Engagement, allows American college athletes to work in Vietnam with Vietnamese college and high school students to conduct sports clinics for disadvantaged youth of middle school age using an “all-sports court” built before the program begins. In addition to giving American athletes an opportunity to provide sports instruction and infrastructure to underprivileged youth, it also allows us to use sports to get kids excited about learning, help teach values from sports which are important for educational success, and educate kids about the benefits of higher education. I believe that involving college student-athletes in social change initiatives which rely on sport as the primary means for transformation, and which include seeing different countries and some of their challenges, can revolutionize student-athletes’ development as ethical leaders in our society in a way that has never been done before.