DESTINY STEWARD-BOWDEN OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK WINS 2013 USTA/ NJTL ARTHUR ASHE ESSAY CONTEST

Written by: on 8th February 2016
Destiny -- Ashe Winner 1
DESTINY STEWARD-BOWDEN OF MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK WINS 2013 USTA/ NJTL ARTHUR ASHE ESSAY CONTEST  |

Editors note: It’s 2016 and the 10sBalls staffers still love this story. We’d love an update on Destiny. Please enjoy her words. And we sure hope she is still playing tennis!

 

10sBalls Editors Note : we pulled this out of our archives. We loved it the first time we read it and posted it. We have re run it for years. We still love it. We hope DESTINY is still playing. We wish her well.

 

Editors Note: This story was voted the favorite of 2013 by the staff and editors.

 

You will have a great life with your “magic wand” also known as your tennis racket. It opens doors all over the world.

 

Destiny Steward-Bowden is 11-years-old and from Mount Vernon, N.Y. She is representing the Harlem Junior Tennis and Education Program. Destiny has been playing tennis for six years now. She loves tennis and thinks it’s one of the greatest sports ever. She started out Dancing at the Ruth Williams Dance Academy in Harlem like her sister, but stopped so she could concentrate on sports. She started with tennis in a small group and tried soccer, volleyball, ice skating, and swimming. However, she knew tennis was where she had the most fun. When her parents enrolled her in HJTEP, she believed it was one of the best things to happen because she not only developed another group of people she can connect with and have fun, but where she gained another family.

 

Here is here winning essay in the Arthur Ashe Essay contest:

 

By Destiny Steward-Bowden

 

Arthur Ashe is an incredible man. There are no words to explain his greatness, but sadly that is not what I’m here to tell you about today. Today, I’m here to tell you how I, Destiny Steward Bowden, would follow in Arthur Ashe’s footsteps. Let us begin.

 

Well, as you know, Arthur Ashe was the co-founder of the National Junior Tennis and Learning Network, or NJTL. This is a network of youth serving organizations that provides tennis and education for all. I think Arthur Ashe’s idea was phenomenal. Arthur Ashe had to be one of extreme intelligence to have thought of such a program. I could only try to live up to his great name, but if f I was to try and make an effective program for the community it would be called the Program for Athletics and Knowledge, or PFAK.

 

PFAK would be a program much like NJTL, except with a twist. My program would only be for the ages 12-17. You might ask yourself why limit the program to only those ages? My reasoning is PEER PRESSURE! Most adults think that peer pressure starts around when the child gets to high school. When I say peer pressure I’m talking about things that kids today are getting involved in. Kids are burdened with the pressures of sex, drugs, cutting school, vandalizing property, getting into fights, and joining gangs. PFAK would support kids in finding ways to excuse themselves from those types of situations. Some kids find peer pressure at school and at home, as well. PFAK would be a place where kids wouldn’t have to worry about kids forcing them into situations that leave them feeling hurt or neglected. PFAK wouldn’t be just a place, it would a home away from home.

 

There is, however, other ways to make an impact on kids’ lives than just talking to kids personally. My reason for saying this is that kids need to release unnecessary stress and as a participant of the Harlem Amory Tennis program, I can truthfully say that tennis relieves me from the stresses of youth. I can also say from looking around that when I’m at my tennis center that the other kids must feel that way too. This is why at PFAK we would support tennis as a stress reliever and a way of life.

 

That is how I plan to follow in Arthur Ashe’s footsteps. May my work flourish and help kids my age see themselves in a better light. Thank you and may you have a good day.

Editors Note: Destiny  we applaud you. Your Arthur Ashe NJTL will inspire us all. Our old  buddy and guardian of the game the late Gene  Scott was a co founder of the program.  Mt . Vernon NY has a soft spot in our hearts. Especially the shoe store on Gramaton ave. …..

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