Von Washington Jr., CEO of the Kalamazoo Promise, says sports gave him belonging and taught him that hard work earns a place.
On Sportual Cafe, host Jeanne Hess invites community partners to share their “sportual” stories. She talks with Washington about why education is the word at the center of his life. He describes growing up in a military family that moved every four years, six or seven times before he finished high school. Joining a team helped him make friends and gain credibility quickly in each new school.
Washington says he was a late bloomer who sat the bench often. He recalls asking his sister to check the team list for him, and running every step of the way to school when he made it. He says his high school coach told him he kept him because he had outworked everyone at tryouts. Washington coached varsity boys basketball for 16 years at Kalamazoo Central, Niles and West Ottawa. He says sports and education go hand in hand.
He also talks about the Kalamazoo Promise, which he says began in 2005 when anonymous donors pledged to pay tuition and fees for Kalamazoo Public Schools students at most in-state public colleges and universities. He says the program now also supports vocational education and certificates, under the phrase “your path, your promise.” Calling Kalamazoo an “education city,” he says, means there is still work to do so everyone can lean into it.
