As summer winds down, students like 16 year-old Quae Furlow and 14 year-old Tanner Blyly are heading back to school. One of the big questions they'll no doubt hear and ask will be "What did you do this summer?" The Recollective, a group of independent radio producers, spent part of their summer at the 4th & 1 Football Summer Camp. They recorded interviews with Furlow and Blyly and over fifty other high school football players in attendance. Held this year at Michigan State University, the camp is free for students from communities in Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Detroit.
For one jam-packed week in July, the student-athletes received individualized football training and SAT/ACT tutoring. Business leaders, coaches and college admissions staff led classes on résumé writing, college applications, yoga, and sports broadcasting. There was even a dining etiquette class. Throughout the week, the adult mentors and guest speakers shared their stories of obstacles faced, mistakes made, and opportunities seized. But in this audio postcard from East Lansing we hear Furlow and Blyly, along with several other 4th & 1 attendees, interviewing each other about their lives, their hopes for the future and the life-changing week they've had at camp.
Special thanks to Camp Directors Kaleb Thornhill and Kurt Richardson and student contributors Quincy Briggs Jr., ChaQuan Love, Malcolm X Downs, Shawn Watkins, Cameron Lee, Asean Vue, Torien Harris, Brett Powell Jr., Joe Montgomery, Joe Wright, Quae Furlow, Tanner Blyly, Kane Thompson, Leondre Terry, Dartanion Cook, Bernard Noble, Avante Bell and Juan Cabrera.
Learn more about 4th & 1 Football Summer Camp here.
Originally published on Youthradio.org, the premier source for youth generated news throughout the globe.
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