Dream, Do, Believe

Written by Jamie Spatola
(From Duke Blue Planet, December 2007)

In the midst of media innuendo that perhaps Coach K has lost a little something, I have been spending time at a place where the values he has held dear throughout his life and career remain abundantly relevant. While working on a writing project with the Emily Krzyzewski Center’s Pioneer Scholars, I learned that daring to dream, embracing fundamental values in the development of character, and seeking to make the most of potential through the power of belief are producing inspirational results in the lives of some amazing kids.

I suppose this is not going to be your typical “article.” This time, I’d just like to tell you about an experience I feel tremendously lucky to have had. I suppose that the spirit of the holiday season has prompted me to write about something that is just plain good, perhaps as a reminder that there is more than just quality basketball happening around here.

Upon moving back to the Durham area this year, I knew that one of the first things I wanted to do was get involved at the Emily K Center. I have watched admiringly as Marleah Rogers and staff have made the Center a dynamic reality and I have been eager to volunteer. Originally, I was uncertain as to what that involvement may be, but after a couple of brainstorming meetings with Education Director Adam Eignerauch and Education Program Director Amy Cummings, we developed an idea.

As Coach K’s daughter and sometimes co-author, Adam and Amy invited me to speak to the kids about writing and to work with them, collectively and individually, on their own book which would be based on the work my dad and I did in Beyond Basketball: Coach K’s Keywords for Success.

I came to my first visit feeling nervous and under-qualified, but the kids at the Center put me immediately at ease asking numerous questions and making me laugh before I could even begin my presentation. I spoke to them briefly about how I got into writing, focusing on the Dream-Do-Achieve pathway that led me here. The concept of dreaming, doing, and achieving is a pathway that has served as the basis for all of the Emily K’s programs -- encouraging big dreams, granting opportunities to do, and, thus, setting them on the path to achieve.

One thing that I wanted to emphasize to the kids about dreaming is that it is not necessary, as a youngster, to dream with singularity. Dreams do not have to be so specific. Some children may grow up knowing that they want to be a doctor and have a single-track mind that will guide them down that pathway to success. But, I had one young man that told me he wanted to be either a boxer, a doctor, or a dog-walker. Why can’t he believe that he could be all three?

My other message to them was that they didn’t have to go it alone. To go from dreaming to doing to achieving is not always easy and it is important to let people help them along the way. I said to them that we were all lucky because someone believes in us. For me, I would have never had the guts to try writing if it weren’t for my dad. I was surprised and honored the day he told me that he wanted me to be his co-author on his next book. I am not sure why, but he believed in me, and that fueled me throughout the project. I told the Pioneer Scholars that I know for a fact that someone believes in them. Maybe it’s a parent, a teacher, or a sibling. Maybe it’s an aunt, or a grandfather, or a tutor. But I know that each of them has someone who believes. And the reason I knew is because they were sitting there at the Emily K.

I proceeded to talk to them a bit about the writing process. Since the kids are familiar with the concept of Dream-Do-Achieve, I tried to discuss writing using a similar framework, taking them from brainstorming, through multiple drafts and edits, and ending with the achievement of a final product.

After discussing the writing process, I informed the kids that, when this was all said and done, they will have contributed to a book of their own. Beyond Dream-Do-Achieve will be a collection of essays written by the Emily K’s Pioneer Scholars. The fundamental pillars on which the 63 Pioneer Scholars build their character are Heart, High Expectations, Hard Work, Integrity, Honesty and Respect. Each student selected one of the six pillars and wrote a composition about what that word means to them and a time in their lives in which they were able to show that particular trait. As discussed in Beyond Basketball, the kids were able to identify with the concept that you can look up all the definitions of words you want, but you don’t own them until you can define them with a story from your own life.

Each student was also presented with their own signed copy of Beyond Basketball. One of the students mentioned in the parking lot afterward that it was the first time anyone had given her a book.

As I read through the rough drafts, I became truly impressed by the complex understanding these youngsters had of some difficult concepts and I truly feel as if their takes on the pillar words enhanced my own comprehension of the concepts -- I do believe that anyone who reads the final product will feel the same.

On my subsequent visit to the Center, I was able to meet individually with each of the students to discuss my notes on their final draft. I think this was my favorite afternoon spent at the Emily K, having the opportunity to meet with each of the kids one-on-one, look them in the eye, and talk to them about their composition.

We also selected four girls to work together after normal Center hours one evening on a foreword for their book. Jadiya Oates (Grade Six, Pearson Middle School), LaTosha Ruffin (Grade Six, Carrington Middle School), Leona Vareene (Grade Five, Eno Valley Elementary School), Alyzia McAlmon (Grade Six, Brogden Middle School) and I had dinner together at the Center one evening as we outlined the elements essential to their book’s introduction. Each girl was given the task of completing one paragraph of the foreword in addition to their composition. They accepted this with smiles and I could tell they thought of it as an opportunity rather than an assignment.

On one more visit, I met individually with Alyzia McAlmon. I am so impressed with Alyzia’s writing but, even more, with her presence. She is a confident young woman with genuine eyes. When you converse with her, she truly listens. On top of that, she is impressively intelligent. After Alyzia interviewed me for a school project, I asked if she would take the time to help me with a project of my own. Alyzia graciously accepted and wrote up a reflection of the Beyond Dream-Do-Achieve project for Blue Planet.

Anyone who has read the Emily K Center Annual Report knows that the Center is producing some amazing results. Standardized tests conducted upon program entry showed 66% of the students reading below grade level. Follow-up tests have 62% now reading above grade level. Now, Marleah, Adam, Amy and the Emily K Center staff plan to extend the Pioneer Scholars program (K-8th) into a Scholars to College program that will continue to work with the youngsters in high school and support them through matriculation. The Center hopes to establish meaningful, decade-or-longer, relationships with kids who lack the means, but not the talent, to do it on their own.

My experience over the past few months with the students at the Emily K has been a reminder to me of what winning means and how it happens. It can be a reminder to all of us that we are not being naïve to think that “old school” values still produce results, that belief still works, and that dreams come true. It happens. It happens at the Emily K Center. It happens on the basketball court. It happens at Duke. If you are willing to believe, you could see it too.

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