Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Make Annual Trek to Youth Correctional Facility
9/13/2016 10:56:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Amit Mallik
Northwestern Athletic Communications
Continuing the program's commitment to giving back to the community, the Northwestern men's basketball team recently made its annual trip to Illinois Youth Center, a correctional facility in Chicago, to connect and bond with the youth while engaging in deep discussions about life experiences.
Now in its fifth year, the trip is a chance for the Wildcats to give back to the Chicago community by having conversations with the youth about their lives that ended up being impactful for both sides.
"It's a win-win situation for the team and the teens in the facility," said Dererk Pardon, a sophomore making his first trip to the facility. "We try to give advice and share our paths to success, because a lot of us come from difficult backgrounds like them. It makes you realize how grateful and lucky you are to be in this position."
When the team arrived early in the morning, they convened with a group of the teenagers in the facility, and everyone introduced themselves while sharing their backgrounds and experiences. The day eventually finished with the Wildcats eating lunch with the residents in small group settings.
Pardon stressed how important it was to get to know the youth through conversations and how they were ultimately similar to a lot members of the team.
"I have a lot of family members and friends in the same situations so I understand where they're coming from," Pardon said. "I know how big of a deal it is for them to get past their mistakes and we talked about trying to achieve that goal."
The yearly visit has deep roots in the basketball program after Michael "Juice" Thompson went on the inaugural visit in 2011. Thompson, a Northwestern basketball icon currently playing professionally in Europe, is a Chicago native and was especially able to relate to the facility residents about growing up in the area.
The same applied for Matthew Harris, a senior on the football team who grew up in La Grange Highlands, a suburb of Chicago, joined the basketball team on this year's visit. The importance of growing up in a difficult environment as one of eight children in a single-parent household gave Harris the ability to empathize with the youth, and for him, the entire visit was just a little more meaningful and personal.
"I'm blessed to get out of the situation that I was in," said Harris. "I wanted to show hope for (the youth they visited with). I didn't want to present myself as being better than them but rather be in a situation that they could get to. It's not easy, but at the same time with hard work and dedication you can get anywhere.
"A lot of the kids in there saw us as the good guys, as guys who do it right every time. At the same time, I wanted to tell them that 'you guys are good guys too'. It's all about the decisions that you choose to make. Even though it's hard now being in the position that they're in, I wanted to show them that people still depend upon them."
By telling their own stories about how they got to Northwestern, the Wildcats struck a chord with the teens who had athletic aspirations of their own.
"You have to remember that they're just kids, like us," Pardon said. "A lot of them have dreams of playing basketball and they see us as something to aspire to, and that makes us remember how blessed we are to be here."
The visit has become a special part of the Wildcats' offseason and one of the team's favorite events of the year. Throughout all of the community service initiatives they participate in, this one stands out for the team because it hits close to home and provides valuable self-reflection.
The players came away from the visit with a greater sense of appreciation for their situation, and also felt a strengthened sense of togetherness. Pardon went back to his point that the day paid dividends for all.
"It's really a two-way street," Pardon said. "I think as a team we all realized how privileged and lucky we are to be students of Northwestern, and personally I believe it helped us as much as it helped them."
The Wildcats continue to build up towards the start of their season in November. With a meaningful visit to the youth correctional facility in their rearview window, they hope that their new perspective on how grateful they are gives them a little extra to play for.
Northwestern Athletic Communications
Continuing the program's commitment to giving back to the community, the Northwestern men's basketball team recently made its annual trip to Illinois Youth Center, a correctional facility in Chicago, to connect and bond with the youth while engaging in deep discussions about life experiences.
Now in its fifth year, the trip is a chance for the Wildcats to give back to the Chicago community by having conversations with the youth about their lives that ended up being impactful for both sides.
"It's a win-win situation for the team and the teens in the facility," said Dererk Pardon, a sophomore making his first trip to the facility. "We try to give advice and share our paths to success, because a lot of us come from difficult backgrounds like them. It makes you realize how grateful and lucky you are to be in this position."
When the team arrived early in the morning, they convened with a group of the teenagers in the facility, and everyone introduced themselves while sharing their backgrounds and experiences. The day eventually finished with the Wildcats eating lunch with the residents in small group settings.
Pardon stressed how important it was to get to know the youth through conversations and how they were ultimately similar to a lot members of the team.
"I have a lot of family members and friends in the same situations so I understand where they're coming from," Pardon said. "I know how big of a deal it is for them to get past their mistakes and we talked about trying to achieve that goal."
The yearly visit has deep roots in the basketball program after Michael "Juice" Thompson went on the inaugural visit in 2011. Thompson, a Northwestern basketball icon currently playing professionally in Europe, is a Chicago native and was especially able to relate to the facility residents about growing up in the area.
The same applied for Matthew Harris, a senior on the football team who grew up in La Grange Highlands, a suburb of Chicago, joined the basketball team on this year's visit. The importance of growing up in a difficult environment as one of eight children in a single-parent household gave Harris the ability to empathize with the youth, and for him, the entire visit was just a little more meaningful and personal.
"I'm blessed to get out of the situation that I was in," said Harris. "I wanted to show hope for (the youth they visited with). I didn't want to present myself as being better than them but rather be in a situation that they could get to. It's not easy, but at the same time with hard work and dedication you can get anywhere.
"A lot of the kids in there saw us as the good guys, as guys who do it right every time. At the same time, I wanted to tell them that 'you guys are good guys too'. It's all about the decisions that you choose to make. Even though it's hard now being in the position that they're in, I wanted to show them that people still depend upon them."
By telling their own stories about how they got to Northwestern, the Wildcats struck a chord with the teens who had athletic aspirations of their own.
"You have to remember that they're just kids, like us," Pardon said. "A lot of them have dreams of playing basketball and they see us as something to aspire to, and that makes us remember how blessed we are to be here."
The visit has become a special part of the Wildcats' offseason and one of the team's favorite events of the year. Throughout all of the community service initiatives they participate in, this one stands out for the team because it hits close to home and provides valuable self-reflection.
The players came away from the visit with a greater sense of appreciation for their situation, and also felt a strengthened sense of togetherness. Pardon went back to his point that the day paid dividends for all.
"It's really a two-way street," Pardon said. "I think as a team we all realized how privileged and lucky we are to be students of Northwestern, and personally I believe it helped us as much as it helped them."
The Wildcats continue to build up towards the start of their season in November. With a meaningful visit to the youth correctional facility in their rearview window, they hope that their new perspective on how grateful they are gives them a little extra to play for.
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