I want you to picture the person in your life who is the most die-hard of die-hard sports fans. My brain immediately goes to my Dad’s brother, Jeff. Do you have yours? Ok.
Now ten times that level of fandom. Seriously.
That’s my friend, Josh. And he just got some news that I am sharing with his permission.
Let’s start at the beginning.
Josh is 31 years old and he would tell you himself that he had what he calls a ‘rough’ upbringing. At the time he landed in my program for students at-risk he was 15 and living in a rental with his mom and one of his brothers. The rental had broken windows in the basement where Josh was sleeping. And their landlord wouldn’t fix them.
I have a brother-in-law with a construction company who was looking for some service to do. He had his guys fix the windows and he and my sister ended up supplementing Josh’s family Christmas that year.
With that, they became just some of the adults that have influenced Josh’s trajectory. He had counselors, friends, neighborhood families, and parents of his friends that all adopted him and called him family. He became part of a collective group effort aimed at raising him well.
In 8th grade Josh started going to Utah Jazz basketball games thanks to a neighbor that was one of Josh’s many benefactors. He was hooked on the Jazz instantly.
He has never been able to afford season tickets, but through blood, tears, and a LOT of sweat, Josh has been able to attend 270 games in the last 15 years. TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY GAMES.
To say he loves the Jazz is the hugest of understatements. He is, as I mentioned above, the die-est of die-hard fans.
When Josh was in high school, he started a job after school as ‘sweeper’ at a local elementary school. Any interaction with little kids made him happy and since he was so funny and unique and original and child-like himself, little kids would always seek him out. He made friends with the other janitorial staff and with the teachers, and he developed a genuine love for that school. He spent 7 years at that job. He became one of the individuals rooting for those kids’ success. He was part of that collective group effort.
In the meantime, he – slowly – started community college with the help of Pell Grants and promises. He thought he might study to be a sports journalist, but he decided to take an elementary education class and he loved it. After 6 years at community college he transferred to the University of Utah and after a couple years there, he applied for the Elementary Education progam. I got to help him put the finishing touches on that application and you should have seen how nervous he was about not getting in.
(Spoiler alert – he got in.)
Josh graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Education 10 years after graduating from high school. He would tell you it was, again, a collective group effort.
Those years had some rough times. Some “I’m not sure how I’m going to eat” times, some “I’m not sure if I really want to be here” times.
But he pulled himself out with the help of people in that collective group who loved him.
He is now in his 3rd full year of teaching elementary school full-time.
This year he got to follow some of his 5th graders he taught last year into 6th grade and the kids literally cried when they found out. Three-fourths of those kids are in his class again, just so they can have him for a second year. And he makes a point of doing something extra to help at least one kid every day because not that many years ago he was that kid. He holds competitions and contests and rallies these kids towards being successful individuals in his collective group.
He met his girlfriend, Annie, in the Education program and they’ve been together for 3 years. He will tell you she is the best thing in his life and first in line in the tribe of people who love Josh.
Friends would tell you Josh is absolutely the one who holds their group together.
He is supporting himself and still helping his mom. His school has a makeshift ‘food bank’ and he still makes deliveries to her after the kids get what they need.
A couple weeks ago, in a very full circle moment, Josh shared with me an email he received that told him he had been nominated by parents, teachers, and students for making a difference in their students’ lives. What had he been nominated for? A Most Valuable Educator – recognized by, you guessed it, the Utah Jazz.
They told him they had received nominations about him that really resonated with their selection committe and because of that, he was selected for this season. He received a $1000 classroom grant and six tickets to a game in the Educator’s suite – and this week he had a visit to his school by the Jazz Bear.
The best part? He gets a personalized Jazz jersey. This kid, who has attended 270 games without season tickets, gets a Utah Jazz jersey with his name on it. He gets to be part of the team.
Dr. Alfredo Rivera reminds us that “team achievement is a result of an individual member in a collective group effort. No one individual can do it all.”
Collective. Group. Effort.
Josh is going to continue changing the world – one funny, unique little kid at a time. I literally could not be prouder.
I can’t wait to hear about what collective group you are lending your effort to – especially at this time of year. It might pay off in ways you never would have imagined.
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PS The photo for this post is from Josh’s personal library and used with his permission.
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