Everyone faces struggles in life—some we can control, and others we can’t. These challenges can be mental, physical, or financial. For Team USA athlete Joel Embiid, the road to basketball greatness has been anything but easy. His journey from adversity to success is what makes him my favorite Team USA athlete. Embiid was born in Cameroon, Africa, and didn’t start playing basketball until he was 15—a late start compared to most elite players. Despite this, he quickly rose through the ranks and earned a spot at the University of Kansas, where he excelled and became the 3rd overall pick in the NBA Draft, selected by the Philadelphia 76ers—my favorite team. His NBA career didn’t begin smoothly. He missed his entire first season due to injury, and a second injury kept him out for the following year as well. During those two years, Embiid used his time wisely, working on his skills during pregame warmups. As a fan attending games during that period, I saw firsthand how committed he was to improving. When he finally made his debut, more injuries limited him to just 31 games. Still, he showed flashes of greatness. The following season, the 76ers made the playoffs, but again, Embiid faced setbacks—playing with a protective mask due to a facial injury. The team was eliminated early, and this pattern of playoff disappointments would continue for years, despite changes in the roster and various co-stars surrounding Embiid. Critics often question his durability, as he has struggled to play more than 65 games in a season. But Embiid never gave up. He kept improving, and in 2023, he was named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player—a testament to his hard work and perseverance. Now, he’s taken his talents to the international stage, playing a key role for Team USA in the 2024 Olympics. Despite facing backlash for choosing not to represent his birth country, Embiid stayed true to his goals and helped lead the U.S. to a gold medal. Joel Embiid’s story is one of resilience and determination. Watching him overcome so many obstacles to reach the highest levels of basketball is why he’s my favorite Team USA athlete.

I love sports- the action, the competitiveness and all of the behind the scenes aspects like statistics, scheduling, history, trades and team management! I used to play competitive basketball but that all changed at the height of COVID-19. It’s during that time that my interest changed from playing sports to the business of sports. This passion has inspired me to pursue a career in sports media, journalism and management. Specifically, my vision is to become a sports broadcaster and journalist, start my own sports media company and/or become an executive for a professional team. By pursuing this career path, I will make a positive difference in the lives of others in a non-traditional way. Sports bring people together. As a successful professional in sports media and management, I will create a visible and influential platform to use sports as a tool to be a source of unification, positivity, joy and advocacy. Sports information and administration are the backbone of organized sports and encompasses many roles and areas of expertise. In order to be successful in my desired industries, it is important that I become well versed in as many aspects of the sports business as possible. As a result, essential to my success will be the development of a versatile and broad knowledge base and technical skill set. I believe that the most important skills to possess are: passion and confidence; excellent verbal and written communication skills to deliver balanced, objective and clear messaging and storytelling; strong interpersonal, persuasion and negotiation skills for networking and relationship building; flexibility to go where the work requires as well as time management and multitasking to meet deadlines and remain relevant. I plan to develop these skills by learning and practicing as much as I can. Over the last 5 years, I have been working actively to help me excel in my dream career. I have participated in sports broadcasting camps and attended a Sports Management pre-college course at Syracuse University. I am the Sports Editor and a reporter for my school’s newspaper. I have also launched a sports reporting website (Jaden Harper Sports; https://sites.google.com/view/jharpersports/home) as well as a YouTube channel and social media pages both called Big Fan Sports where I stream play by play commentary and design and post sports-related graphics and news. Additionally, I have created a youth wiffleball league (Premier Wiffleball Association) where I am the Commissioner and a team manager with 5 teams and over 40 players. Through the league, I have continued to sharpen my sports administration skills including planning, negotiating, teamwork, marketing and promotions. My next step toward fulfilling my vision for a career in sports broadcasting, journalism and management is to study Sports Media and Journalism with a minor in Sport Management starting this fall at Temple University.

I love sports- the action, strategy, and competition! Sports bring people together. I used to play competitive basketball but that changed at the height of COVID-19. It’s during that time that my interest changed from playing sports to the business of sports. I like the behind the scenes stuff; broadcasting, reporting, stats, scheduling, team management, sports history, trades and more. In line with my passion, my dream career is to start my own sports media company. In order to successfully achieve this goal, I plan to study Sports Media and Management in college. I want to learn as much as I can about the business side of sports. Selecting these areas of study will better prepare and position me to excel in a highly competitive and rapidly changing field by deepening and diversifying my knowledge, skill set and experiences. In addition to my studies, college, overall, will be a time and place for growth, to learn more about myself, improve my leadership skills, and continue to chart my own path. I’ve had a strong interest in business and entrepreneurship since I was about 12 years old. In fact, in the 6th grade, I started a sports paraphernalia business; a social media sports channel in the 9th grade; and a wiffleball league in the 10th grade. In high school, I’ve taken multiple business classes including Entrepreneurship and serve as an officer in the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) chapter. Entrepreneurship appeals to me for several reasons. It is the living example of the saying, “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”. I like the idea of controlling my own destiny, being my own boss and the self-reliance and accountability that comes with being an entrepreneur. I am motivated by the constant grinding, hard work, effort and flexibility required to be successful. I also enjoy turning ideas into reality and creating things from the ground up. Specifically as it relates to sports media, being an entrepreneur in this field will afford a level of independence as well as freedom of speech and expression to enable objective and truthful reporting. I am confident that I will be successful in my business endeavors because failure only happens if I give up; otherwise, it’s all lessons. My strong work ethic, resilience, ability to thrive under pressure, network and, most importantly, preparation will impact the success of my entrepreneurial goals. In addition to high school business classes, in preparation, I have attended a Sports Management pre-college course and Sports Broadcasting Camps over the last 4 years. In order to develop my skills, I have also launched a sports reporting website (Jaden Harper Sports; https://sites.google.com/view/jharpersports/home), a YouTube channel and social media pages called Big Fan Sports where I stream play-by-play commentary and analyze professional games plus design and post sports-related graphics and news. Additionally, I am the Sports Editor at my school’s newspaper. I’ve also worked to diversify my experience by creating a community wiffleball league where I am the Commissioner and a team manager with over 40 players. Through the league, I have learned skills like planning, negotiating, teamwork, marketing and promotions. I believe that I currently have a successful life because I have a supportive family, love and a spirit for giving back to help others. Building my own thriving business and, consequently, wealth will be only part of having a successful life. But, my overall success will be based on my ability to use my business endeavors and financial gains to lead a life of impact that positively makes a difference in the world.

My professional passion is to become a sports broadcaster. By pursuing my dream, I will make an impact in the lives of others in a non-traditional way. To me, this career is more than just reporting game play and statistics. I believe that sports bring people together and evoke strong emotions like few things can. We have far more things in common than what separates us and sports is an example. Where else can you find millions of people globally hoping, cheering and sometimes crying on an united front like at the Super Bowl, World Cup or Olympics? Growing up, I’ve seen first hand the power that sports can have to connect us on a personal level through my father. Repeatedly, I’ve seen him skillfully start a conversation with and instantaneously form a bond with anyone, even if they had nothing in common, just by talking about “their team”. Like magic, I would see their defenses come down, comfort levels come up and their passion and joy come out. As a professional in sports media, I will have a similar impact on a larger scale using sports as a tool to be a source of unification, positivity and joy. Sports broadcasting is also about storytelling. I understand that they who write (or tells) the story, controls the narrative. The “storyteller” can be a powerful and influential position and with power comes responsibility. At a time when facts and information are easily and routinely manipulated, this is a responsibility that I take seriously. I plan to be truthful and objective in my storytelling while also being conscientious and empathetic. I believe it is very important to give back especially when people have poured into you. So, another way that I will have an impact is to serve as a role model and mentor; especially to young people interested in the business of sports. I will use my positions to open doors to give insight into the business and to help others thrive in the industry. Since the pandemic, I have been working hard to achieve my professional passion. I have maintained a GPA of over 3.4 in high school. Over the last 4 years, I have also participated in sports broadcasting camps and attended a Sports Management pre-college course at Syracuse University. I started a YouTube channel and social media pages called Big Fan Sports where I stream play-by-play commentary of professional games as well as design and post sports-related graphics and news. I have become the Sports Editor at my high school’s newspaper and started a sports-focused podcast. My next goal towards turning my passion into my profession is to go to college and study sports media to learn more about the field and continue to grow and sharpen my skills. The John Young “Pursue Your Passion” scholarship will help me to achieve this goal.

I plan to major in Sports Media and Management in college. Selecting these majors will better prepare and position me to achieve my dream career of becoming a sports broadcaster or the manager of a team. I love all sports! Sports bring people together, athletes and fans. I also like the competitiveness of it. I used to play competitive basketball but that all changed at the height of COVID-19. It’s during that time that my interest changed from playing sports to the business of sports. I like the behind the scenes stuff like broadcasting, stats, scheduling, management, sports history, trades, stadiums and more. I want to learn as much as I can. I have attended Sports Management pre-college courses and Sports Broadcasting Camps over the last 4 years. I also have a YouTube channel and social media pages called Big Fan Sports where I stream games plus design and post sports-related graphics and news. Additionally, I am the Sports Editor at my school’s newspaper and am working to bring broadcasting to my school for the first time. I’ve also continued to pursue my interest by creating a wiffleball league where I am the Commissioner and a team manager. Originally, it started with 12 kids and 4 teams. Now, there are 5 teams and over 40 players. Through the league, I have learned skills like planning, negotiating, teamwork, marketing and promotions. I have also improved my commentary skills doing play-by-play throughout the games. Post graduation, as a professional in sports media and management, I will have a visible and influential platform to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in my community. I believe it is very important to give back especially when people have done so for you. One way that I would give back would be to serve as a role model and mentor; especially to young Black men interested in the business of sports. I will use my positions to open doors to give insight into the business and to help them thrive in the industry. I would also be interested in teaching about sports to help students learn more about the industry before they jump into it. I have had the benefit of meeting and talking with several behind the scenes professionals over the last few years that have helped me. One memorable moment was on my 16th birthday. I am a huge Philadelphia Phillies fan so my parents took me to a game. To my surprise, they arranged with a Sports Journalism professor from a Philadelphia university (whom we only met once) to meet a Hall of Fame Black female baseball writer and the Phillies beat writer. Before the game, completely unplanned, they took me up to tour the press box where I met the tv play-by-play announcer and others. These individuals went out of their way to make my day special without knowing me and I am still in contact with many of them almost two years later. I plan to pay it forward. I believe that everyone should be able to enjoy sports. As a result, another way that I plan to give back to the community post graduation is to use my position to support a longtime interest of mine; the Special Olympics.

I am a fan of LeBron James not just because of what he does on the court but also what he does off the court. On the court, he might be the most versatile player of all time with his ability to pass, rebound, as well as put the ball in the basket. He has also carried multiple teams to the NBA playoffs. Although he has won several championships, the most impressive demonstration of his ability was when the 2018 Cleveland Cavaliers made it all the way to the NBA Finals. In that finals run, LeBron averaged 34 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists per game throughout the run, which included sweeping the top-seeded Toronto Raptors and upsetting the Boston Celtics in 7 games in the Eastern Conference Finals without a supporting cast. This run also included two buzzer beating shots, walking off both the Raptors and Indiana Pacers in Cleveland. Another reason why LeBron is great on the court is his longevity. LeBron has had the longest stretch of dominance of anyone in NBA history. From the minute he stepped on a basketball court, he dominated at every level and age which quickly translated to the Association where he won the Rookie of the Year award and placed top 10 in the MVP voting as a 19-year-old. Now to this day, as a 39-year-old with a son in the league, he comes off a season averaging 26 points for the Lakers. His dominance shows even more when you realize LeBron hasn’t had a game where he scored under 10 points since January 2007, before I was even born! LeBron is also great because of the things he does off the court. James established the LeBron James Family Foundation in 2004 to help children and single parents in need. His foundation has gone on to spearhead multiple initiatives including the I PROMISE school in Akron, Ohio; James’ hometown. The school currently enrolls 575 children, ranging from third grade to eighth. James’ foundation has led other projects including the I PROMISE Village (transitional housing for families), I PROMISE Housing (longer-term housing for families), and the I PROMISE Program (Provides resources, support, and family programming for students and their families); just to name a few. Another great quality of Mr. James is that he appears to be a great family man. He has been in the social spotlight since he was in high school and, now with over 20 years in the league, he has been scandal free. Publicly, LeBron puts his family first. His commitment to his children is evident. One example is how he and his son, Bronny James Jr., will make history together this fall by becoming the first father-son duo to play on the same team at the same time. With all of his abilities and achievements, I do not believe that LeBron is the greatest basketball player of all time. In all honesty, I don’t think there is a greatest player of all time. I think that there are generational great players. Players like Bill Russell, Jerry West, and Wilt Chamberlain played their entire careers without a three-point line, a method of scoring that has taken the league by storm since its inception. Players like Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and Michael Jordan played in a much more physical era of basketball where players could practically tackle others and just get a slap on the wrist. In my opinion, LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of this generation. He has dominated the league since day one and doesn’t look to be stopping anytime soon.

When the world shut down due to COVID-19, my eyes opened to find my passion and future dream career. At the time, a 12 year old me was playing AAU basketball with NBA hoop dreams. It’s when I could not play that I realized how much more there is to sports than being an athlete. I love sports! All of them and all of it- on the field/court play, statistics, scheduling, sports history, trades, stadiums and more. But most of all, my passion is sports broadcasting. By pursuing my dream of becoming a sports broadcaster, I will make a positive difference in the lives of others in a non-traditional way. The field is more than just reporting game play and statistics. Sports bring people together and evokes strong emotions like few things can. I believe that we have far more things in common than what separates us and sports is an example. Where else can you find millions of people globally hoping, cheering and sometimes crying on an united front like at the Super Bowl, World Cup or Olympics? Growing up, I’ve seen first hand the power that sports can have to connect us on a personal level through my father. Repeatedly, I’ve seen him skillfully start a conversation with and instantaneously form a bond with anyone (including people he had nothing in common with) just by talking about “their team”. Like magic, I would see their defenses come down, comfortable level come up and their passion and joy come out. As a professional in sports media, I can have a similar impact on a larger scale using sports as a tool to be a source of unification, positivity and joy. Sports broadcasting is also about storytelling. I understand that they who write (or tells) the story, controls the narrative. When done broadly, the storyteller can be a powerful and influential position. With power comes responsibility. At a time when facts and information are easily and routinely manipulated, this is a responsibility that I take seriously. I plan to be truthful and objective in my storytelling while also being careful not to label or limit others. Since the pandemic, I have been working actively to achieve my professional passion. Over the last 4 years, I have participated in sports broadcasting camps and attended a Sports Management pre-college course at Syracuse University. I also started a YouTube channel and social media pages called Big Fan Sports where I stream NBA, MLB, and NFL games and design and post sports-related graphics and news. I have become the Sports Editor at my high school’s newspaper and started a sports-focused podcast. Now, I am bringing broadcasting to my school’s teams for the first time! My next goal towards turning my passion into my profession is to go to college and study sports media to learn more about the field and continue to grow and sharpen my skills. The John Young “Pursue Your Passion” scholarship will help me to achieve this goal.

There is a lot of change that I want to see in my community, in the country, and in the world. I would want to see the world find a way to cure cancer. Cancer affects everyone. During most people's lifetimes, they have come in contact with someone who has been affected directly or indirectly by cancer. Whether it’s a friend, a loved one, or both, it still hurts to see someone go through so much pain and trauma with this disease. In 2022, an estimated 609,360 people will die because of cancer. It also doesn’t just affect adults. Cancer is very prevalent in children as well. About 1 out of 285 children will get cancer before age 20. That is not ok. As a country and as a globe, we should have the technology available to solve this disease that has taken so many lives. In my community, I have organized and led events and fundraisers to raise awareness and money for cancer research foundations and organizations that help treat kids with cancer including Four Diamonds and to find a cure. It isn’t hard to help people who are going through unimaginable pain and suffering through cancer. It is time to help solve cancer one step at a time so that it won’t affect anyone anymore. It is time to end cancer.

The importance of higher education has been engrained in me since I was a baby. In fact, I was visiting college campuses before I could even walk (thanks to my sister’s college search when I was a baby). I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but even at the age of 4, I cried at my sister’s college graduation. Not because I was sad or tired but because of the happiness the day brought her and the sense of hope that filled the room. Now that I’m older I better understand the many benefits of higher education. Higher education is about discovery, opportunities, and independence. Depending on the college, it can open the door to other regions and countries and expose you to lots of careers and new ideas. It can help people find themselves by exposing them to new experiences and different people from different backgrounds, lifestyles and parts of the world. For example, some kids are sheltered or don’t interact with the world outside of their own school, home or neighborhood. By going away to college, it forces you to interact with others. It can help you grow outside of your comfort zone. It also makes you more independent by giving you more control over what you do and don’t do; which can be a good or bad thing. For me, I believe that higher education will help me truly find myself and realize the type of person that I am and take that next step to the real world. Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” In addition to learning more about myself, higher education will help me learn more about my passion, go after my dreams and do good in the world. The career path that I am pursuing is Sports Broadcast Journalism. I have loved talking and learning about sports for a long time and also enjoy broadcasting. I believe that sports make people happy and can bring different people together. Most people who are in this profession have a degree in Journalism or Broadcast Journalism. Having a degree in this area will help give me an edge over the competition, open opportunities to get well paying jobs and put me on the road for high visibility and influence to make a positive difference in the lives of others and, in a small way, change the world.

The career path that I am pursuing is Sports Broadcast Journalism. My main goal is to have a successful Sports Broadcast Media Company once I get older. I have a true passion for sports and love to share about it; the play and team aspects as well as the business and analytics of it. I plan to make a positive difference in the world by using this platform to spread joy and unity through my content. Sports bring people from all backgrounds together. Right now, the world needs a lot more happiness and togetherness and I want to bring that with my content.

My favorite Disney character is Mickey Mouse. Mickey is my favorite because he is a leader. He has his own show, Clubhouse and is the face of everything Disney.