In preparation for the Citizenship Tour, participants were asked to reflect on a topic that is important to them, their connection to the issue, and how they’d like to bring that subject to the attention of the public figures and leaders they’ll be speaking with on the Tour. Yesterday, students presented vision boards about these issues to their peers.

Through these early discussions, our students are also getting to know one another better. Cincinnati Squash Academy student Alecia spoke with Tony of Oakland’s SquashDrive about himself and the topic he chose. “Tony is a rising senior from Oakland, CA,” Alecia shared. “He has been with SquashDrive since the 5th grade. Some of his interests are playing soccer, playing guitar, and doing stunts.” The topic Tony chose to present on is veteran homelessness.

“Essentially, what I was saying was that veteran homelessness is a very real problem,” Tony explained. “The one word that comes to mind when I think about it is disrespectful because they have done so much for us, whether we know about it or not, and they deserve so much better.”

We look forward to continuing these discussions on important topics that our students are passionate about in the coming days of the Tour. Tomorrow, our group will be speaking with SEA Executive Director Tim Wyant and Patrick Williams, the Executive Director of SquashDrive.

“Tim Wyant is the co-founder of our program SEA and was the former Executive Director of City Squash from 2002-2013,” said Capitol Squash student Angelina. “I am excited to talk with him and ask him questions! I am also very excited to get to speak with Patrick Williams. He was the first SEA alum to serve as the Executive Director for SquashDrive in Oakland, CA. I can’t wait to ask him about that!”