The time finally came! I packed my bags, had dinner and went to sleep. The final night in the United States was over for a year. The next day I would be going on “The Journey”. Now sport, specifically basketball, has taken me all around the United States, has taken me to the Dominican Republic and now it was leading me to the rolling hills of Ireland. I was nervous, excited, anxious and had so many more feelings swirling inside of me. When I found out that I had this opportunity of a lifetime to work with Sport Changes Life as a Victory Scholar I was ecstatic. To be in a program that allows you to carry on your basketball career, coach and mentor youth, receive a masters and live in Ireland, was an absolute privilege.
I arrived at the Ace Hotel in New York City, not knowing what to expect. I was greeted by warm and friendly smiles as I put on my orange SCL golf shirt and started to mingle with my fellow scholars and the board. It was a tremendous luncheon and everything went so well, until the hard part… saying goodbye to your family. There were a few tears shed by some members and it was difficult, but I grabbed my two under 50 pound bags (the bags had to be under 50 pounds for the flight, and that caused some laughs and troubles with packing but that is a story for another time) and my backpack and boarded the bus to JFK.
