Dear Friends of ABC,

The holiday season is a great time to reflect on the year. As new co-presidents, we have taken the helm during a challenging time. Health and safety protocols at ABC and in New York continue to alter the scholars’ experiences. However, through it all, our scholars thrived. Ikenna and Trevor were inducted into the National Honor Society, and the scholars continue to participate in extracurricular activities even though they have been altered to promote everyone’s safety.

A highlight for the year took place when Travis brought the scholars to meet with recent alums at Connecticut College, where recent Clinton graduate Malachi Ward is a sophomore. For all the work that Travis has done with and for ABC, these moments are the best part of the program, because they reinforce the relationships the scholars have with each other.

Looking ahead, we continue our recruitment efforts for next year’s house of scholars. To ensure we have a full house, we are considering expanding our recruitment pool beyond the Northeast region. This has financial implications for the program, and as you know, we must fundraise for the entire ABC Clinton operating budget.

Thank you for your continued support of ABC Clinton and our scholars. Wishing you and your family a happy and healthy holiday and a prosperous 2022. 

Malaquias Canery

After graduating from the Clinton ABC Program (Class of 2015), I attended Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY. I played 4 years of basketball at the NCAA D3 level and graduated with a B.S. in Communications (Class of 2019).

 

Through pure basketball connections, I was contracted to work in Kuwait as a Player Development coach with HoopMountain (a Massachusetts-based company) for the 2019-2020 season.

While in Kuwait, I launched my own basketball brand (MAC Basketball) on social media that has now reached multiple countries (Dominican Republic, Argentina, Philippines, etc.) with online videos, workouts, and merchandise.

Due to COVID, I came back to the United States in May 2020. 

While here, I have gotten the opportunity to work with pro-level guys all the way down to young kids just learning the game in the Lawrence, MA area (MAC Basketball).

Along with this, I have been working on the collegiate level as a Player Development Coach at Northern Essex Community College, and as a Building Based Educator in the Lawrence Public School System.

I am now going to be heading back to the Middle East, where I will be contracted to start a new basketball academy in Qatar under HoopMountain. 

Dayna Campbell

Year #1 is in the books! After a year of unknowns, hybrid learning, and Zoom tutoring, we ended the year in good health and good spirits and saw an ABC scholar through his high school graduation. 

To say that I had an interesting first year as Resident Director would be an understatement. I am very proud of how we as a program responded to a new and ever-changing situation presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, always putting the safety and continued education of our scholars at the forefront. I am grateful for all of the time spent and laughs shared with the scholars, board members, and community partners. It has truly been a humbling and restorative journey with many more experiences to come.

So far the scholars have been performing extremely well academically and have been enjoying increased social interaction with their friends, host families, and board members. All three are playing on the varsity basketball team for which Ikenna, senior, is the captain. Ike has already been accepted into two universities with many more to come. Both Ike and Trevor were inducted into the National Honor Society, and Tega has jumped into even more extracurriculars after a year serving in student government as a representative for his class. I look forward to what I am hoping is a more normal and busy recruitment season in the Spring, house upgrades, and more time with the scholars. 

Ikenna Duru

Hey, my name is Ikenna Duru and I’m a senior at Clinton A Better Chance this year. Originally I’m from Newark, NJ, and came into the program as a freshman. This is my 4th and final year in the program and it has been a crazy ride especially with the pandemic disrupting my last two years of high school. Last year, although we had a lot of ups and downs with online school taking over most of the year, I was satisfied that we were able to go back in person five days a week before the school year was over.

Recently I finished applying to all of my colleges, and even more recently I got acceptances from two of them, those being Kean University and Felician University, both located in NJ. Along with that, I was inducted into the National Honor Society, which was such a great honor bestowed upon me, and I hope for many more academic achievements.

As for the Spring, I look forward to receiving word back from the rest of my colleges and making a decision on where I want to continue my education for the next four years. When I do pick my college I plan on majoring in Kinesiology/Exercise Science so I can become a Doctor in Physical Therapy. Overall I hope I can finish out my senior year without any complications, and graduate with high honors.