The Fourth Annual National Urban Squash Education Association’s (NUSEA) Citizenship Tour commences this Wednesday, July 12, in New York City. Twenty-two high school students and recent graduates from various NUSEA member programs, who have been specially selected, will take part in the week-long tour spanning New York City, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. The tour strives to promote and encourage civic engagement with an emphasis on activism. Throughout the week students will decipher, “what can I do, what should I do and what will I do,” in effort to promote servant leadership and fulfill their civic duties.
“I think this is an incredible opportunity for a number of reasons,” said Assistant Tour Director, Christian Aviles. “I think the fact that we bring in urban squash players from different programs for an exclusive academic opportunity is really fascinating. We meet a lot as teams for Urban Team Nationals or Urban Individuals, but I think this presents an opportunity for us to really bring different programs together through these kids in a primarily academic setting.”
The tour begins in New York City with squash training and a meeting with George Polsky, the founder of StreetSquash and NUSEA Executive Director Tim Wyant. The group then spends three days in New York City meeting with the Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, New York Times reporters, the CEO of KIPP, and caps off the New York leg visiting NBC Studios. The group travels down the east coast to Philadelphia, where students will fully immerse themselves in this country’s history visiting the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the Constitution Center and Citizens Bank Park. The tour continues to the nation’s capital where students have the opportunity to visit Washington D.C.’s monuments, memorials, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and make a stop at the White House. While in D.C., students will meet with journalists, senators, judges, and other civic leaders. Students will even have the chance to hop on court with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
“I think the fact that this is going to be focused more on relationship building, discussion driven—meeting people, and having the kids mingle with each other is going to be really great for getting our programs to be more interconnected,” Aviles said.
The week concludes with a reception where David Brooks, New York Times columnist, commentator, and author will deliver the keynote address, followed by a squash exhibition match.
To follow the tour, visit the NUSEA Citizenship Tour Blog and @NUSEAsquash on Twitter.
For the week’s itinerary, visit the Tour Website.
For more information on NUSEA, visit their website.