This year’s theme for the Emily K Center student projects and activities is most appropriate: “Team.” It was the focus of the Emily Kronicle literary magazine and the theme of the holiday gathering hosted at the Center for students and their families on a Friday evening in early December.
In the world of Duke Basketball, “team” is always an important word but, for some reason, this year it feels even more special. Perhaps it is because Team USA came home from Beijing in August with gold medals and showed the world that even the best athletes in the world are made better when they willingly subscribe to all that it means to be a part of something bigger than them.
As I read through the stories, poems, and dialogues that the students had written about teams for the Kronicle, I was impressed by the understanding that they seemed to already possess about what a team is and how effectively they were able to convey that understanding through their words. One thing I was most impressed with was how many students referred to their family as a team. Indeed, for Duke Basketball, the words “family” and “team” have always been interchangeable. Even at this early stage in their lives, the students at the Emily K Center already seem to comprehend this notion. Third grader Teymi wrote at the end of her story about a family beach trip, “My team is my family and we care for each other.” Similarly, a sixth grader named Deshaun wrote in his poem about team, “My most important team is my family. We work together everyday. Everyone has an important role on the team. We achieve everything together. And alone we can do so little but together we can do so much.”
In addition to making the mature observation that a family is the most important kind of team, Deshaun had some very insightful things to say about what being on a team is really about, “A team is group of people that work together. A team is where everyone gets a chance. A team is where you lose and achieve together.” Deshaun already grasps the concept of the collective responsibility that comes with being on a team a term that Coach K has always defined with the phrase, “We win and we lose together.” Both of these young students were asked to read their compositions as a room full of hundreds of their peers and family members listened. They were poised and confident both in their words and the way in which they delivered them.
I have been thinking a lot about the many different kinds of teams that exist. The ones we are all on, the ones we work for every day, and the ones whose missions we support from afar. Of course, the USA Olympic Basketball team has been on my mind since our return from China in August. Their task was an extremely important one for the future of basketball in the United States. Their work in achieving their goal is to be lauded, the Olympic gold medal being the most prestigious honor in the world of sport. But what Team USA accomplished is not more important than what the Emily K Center team works towards every day. Maybe there is a future LeBron James or Kobe Bryant among the Pioneer Scholars. That would be wonderful. But I hope there are also future teachers, and doctors, and dancers, and writers. I hope that the students at the Emily K continue to dream big and to dream different and I know that they will feel the strength of support of the Emily K Center team behind them all the way.
Become a Part of The Team
This holiday season, Coach and Mickie Krzyzewski’s gift to their family will be the gift of giving to the Emily K Center. This is the perfect time to join the team by participating in the newly established Dream-Do-Achieve Gift Club. A gift at any level will be recognized with a unique Emily K Thank You card and each successive gift level will be recognized with a special gift from Coach K and the Emily K Center.
This holiday season, Coach and Mickie Krzyzewski’s gift to their family will be the gift of giving to the Emily K Center. This is the perfect time to join the team by participating in the newly established Dream-Do-Achieve Gift Club. A gift at any level will be recognized with a unique Emily K Thank You card and each successive gift level will be recognized with a special gift from Coach K and the Emily K Center.
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Contribution
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What Your Donation Can Accomplish
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Recognition Gift
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$100
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Purchase books and supplies for the Pioneer Scholars
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-EKC Thank You Card
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$250
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Sending a student to a skill- building summer camp
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-EKC Thank You card
-Signed Coach K photo
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$1,000
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Funding a student’s participation in a 5-week Summer Scholars program
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-EKC Thank You Card
-Signed Coach K Basketball
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$6,000
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Partially funding the Emily K’s student recognition ceremony
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-EKC Thank You Card
-Signed Coach K Photo
-Signed Coach K Basketball
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$10,000+
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Fully funding a student in the Emily K Center K To College programming
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-EKC Thank You Card
-Signed Coach K USA Basketball jersey
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Donations can be mailed to the Emily K Center at 903 West Chapel Hill Street Durham, NC 27701 or can be made online at www.emilyk.org. The Emily Krzyzewski Center is a 501 (c)(3) organization and your gift is fully tax deductible.
