贾马尔K. 阿特金斯的01 chose Shenandoah because of former Head Basketball Coach Robert T. Harris and the fact that he knew two students who were already on the team (one being from the same neighborhood). Coach Harris came to some of Atkins’ high school basketball games his senior year, invited him to come tour the campus and stayed in touch the following months after.
“SU是一个保险箱, open and accepting environment for you to find out who you are and grow into that person,阿特金斯说。. “你将面临挑战, 你将受到考验, 你会被纠正的, but most importantly you will be supported.”
Some of Atkins’ fondest memories of his time at Shenandoah are going to the NCAA tournament with the Men’s Basketball team in 1996 and building lifelong friendships that remain strong even after 27 years. Also during his time at the university, he was awarded a plaque for his outstanding service to WSUR, was chosen as 首页coming Prince, was co-captain of the Men’s Basketball team and received a coach’s award. He also volunteered his time to Frederick Douglass Elementary School’s head start program and at the Henry & William Evans 首页 for Children in Winchester.
Atkins is the head U16 girls’ coach for the Grand Saconnex Lions in Geneva, Switzerland. 作为总教练, he teaches fundamental skills training to the team as well as weekly practices and coaches games. 2021-2022赛季, Atkins led the team to the National Final Four with the team finishing in the fourth spot after a tough playoff series run.
Atkins is also the owner and operator of Basketball Academy of Excellence 和有线集成赞比亚. Basketball Academy of Excellence identifies talented basketball players in the United States, Europe and Africa and provides them rigorous training sessions, 指导, 以及生活技能培训, which prepares them for opportunities within their home countries and abroad. 通过学院, he has helped several South African, 赞比亚, and Zimbabwean students obtain scholarships to high schools and universities in the United States and Asia. 除了, Atkins shepherded eight 赞比亚s to the NBA’s exclusive Basketball Without Borders annual camp in South Africa.
在他的职业生涯中, Atkins has also worked on teams that have helped design and facilitate a basketball league for high school students in Durban, provided capacity building services for 2,莱索托的1000名年轻女性, implemented a life skills mentoring and training program for more than 50,赞比亚有000人参加, and assisted in the launch of Project Knapsack (a pen-pal exchange between students in the United States and Zambia), 它是由 波恰·多德森，02年. After the launch, he became the cultural liaison for three years. Now Atkins is a charter board member for the Global Youth Initiatives for Transformation.
Some of Atkins’ most rewarding experiences in his career are listed above. He has successfully changed the lives of children in Africa for the better by helping them earn scholarships to international schools, implementing life skills programs in their countries or building computer labs, meeting areas and safe spaces for them.
Atkins’ Shenandoah education prepared him for his career by teaching him how to learn. “在我上苏大的时候, I was fortunate enough to get a chance to be a member of the school newspaper staff, involved in the rebuild of WSUR, and be on the ground floor at the commencement of WCTV,阿特金斯说。. “Being a part of the communication department and these projects helped me to build technical and analytical skills that have been instrumental in my professional life.” He also learned how to be a global citizen at Shenandoah, which has become a staple in his professional life, living on three continents and in more than ten countries.
Atkins’ advice to students is: “Soak up every bit of knowledge from every source you can, weed out the bad information and keep pushing! Read and understand the field of communications, know what or how you can be an asset to whatever your career path may be. Get subscriptions to publications or online content that will keep you informed of the changes and advancements. 不要害怕尝试!!!”