I am coming off a week of travel and excitement! First, I participated in the annual National HBCU Conference in downtown Philadelphia, hosted by the White House Initiative on HBCUs. It had been many years since I visited Philly, and I had forgotten how much of our nation’s history is packed into one location. In fact, Philadelphia is known as the birthplace of the United States.
The HBCU conference took place at the Downtown Marriott, near Chinatown. I arrived on Sunday afternoon and the downtown area was packed with people. Some were scurrying to the hotel to participate in the career fair, while others were shopping, site seeing, jogging, or simply enjoying the beautiful weather. Traffic seemed unusually heavy to me for a Sunday afternoon, but regular patrons paid it no attention. Horns blew and sirens blared. But the city vibe was thick, as evident by the Congo player jamming outside the food court. That brotha was good! He should be on stage somewhere making big money.
At the conference, 110 White House HBCU Scholars were recognized and on display. They received deserved praise for their accomplishments from Dr. Dietra Trent, Executive Director for the White House initiative and many stopped by our booth at the career fair. I bet there were over 100 companies represented, most of them who do business with our government (i.e., Department of Defense).
On Monday, several dignitaries spoke from the main stage, including Secretary of Education Miquel Cardona. His speech, along with other HBCU President’s and Chancellors reiterated the tremendous impact our institutions have on our country. Data reports that HBCUs represent only 3% of USA colleges and universities. Yet they produce “40% of all Black engineers, 50% of Black teachers, 70% of Black doctors and dentists, and 80% of all Black judges.” They punch above their weight, yet through the years they have received significantly less public and private funding support than other institutions of higher learning.
The highlight of the conference came Monday afternoon when President Joe Biden took the stage! His sprits were high, and his words were inspiring. We were reminded that his administration has provided more than $16B to HBCUs, the most from a President in American history. Those funds helped stabilize our institutions through the COVID pandemic, which dealt a devastating blow to our educational system, especially in urban communities. I believe the repercussions from the catastrophic shutdown will haunt public education (and economy) for decades. But we persevere and march forward…
On Tuesday/Wednesday, our Make Golf Your Career team traveled to Delaware State University for their annual career fair and dialogue with students about the business of golf. Our seven golf companies joined about 60 other organizations to meet and greet over 500 students seeking internships and job opportunities. The Delaware State leadership team did a great job of preparing students for our visit. Many were dressed for success with resumes in-hand!
We had a virtual call with 60 Sports Management students one-week prior our campus arrival. So, most of our career fair traffic was from them. But several students majoring in marketing, communications, business, and hospitality also came through. Most were pleasantly surprised to learn about golf internships and job opportunities, even if they had no previous background or knowledge in the sport.
One of the most astounding things we learned was there are currently 25 students on-campus who graduated from Midnight Golf in Detroit. (Midnight Golf has received several grassroots grants from Make Golf Your Thing).
In all my years in this business I have never seen 25 students at the same HBCU from one of our community-based programs. Kudos to Renee Fluker, the founder and CEO. I was fascinated to learn more about their backstory (Video: Inside Midnight Golf Program’s profound impact on metro Detroit youth (youtube.com).
The most compelling story I heard was from Adar Moore, a 21-year-old junior at Delaware State majoring in nursing and psychology. Adar is from a single parent household in Detroit. In 2019, she heard about Midnight Golf from a friend. Although she had no background in golf, her friend spoke highly of the youth program and convinced Adar to give it a try. In 2020 Adar followed his recommendation and applied for the Midnight Golf membership. After completing two interviews she was accepted. What’s interesting is that Adar’s attraction was not golf. But becoming a Midnight Golf member meant an escape to the outdoors. The COVID pandemic was rampant at the time, and golf was the lone outdoor activity.
Adar attended a predominately white charter high school. She was unfamiliar with golf and had never heard the term HBCU. That was prior to meeting Renee Fluker and Winston Coffee at Midnight Golf. Coffee serves as the College Success Coach for the Detroit program. Adar credits his mentorship, persistence, and counsel with opening her imagination, thus providing “options to make choices,” as my friend Craig Kirby often says.
During the pandemic, Adar’s father was laid off his job. In addition to being a student, Adar was employed part time. She helped helped raise a young sibling in the household too, and her wages helped support the family. Consequently, she had settled her options to remaining home in Detroit for college. But Coffee and Ms. Renee had a bigger vision for her. Together, they scrapped and raised enough money to pay for Adar to visit Delaware State University. Once there, they offered her an academic scholarship and her life changed.
Adar ‘s loyalty and appreciation for Midnight Golf is everlasting. She founded the Delaware State University Collegiate Chapter and serves as President. All 25 Midnight Golf students are members, and they meet twice a month. The objectives are simple, keep the Detroit group together and active in campus activities. They’ve also planned their first campus event: Putting with the President.
Adar expects to graduate in the class of 2026. Meeting her and hearing the backstories made my travels this week fulfilling, meaningful, and worthwhile! Our plans are to remain in touch and help increase golf’s popularity at Delaware State University.
