Gym Becomes TV Studio for a Day
The Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program recently hosted a panel of experts for a special taping of the American Black Journal Roadshow with an engaging discussion led by Stephen Henderson on the importance of mentoring.
There are so many benefits to mentoring; the list can get long quickly! Here are just a few:
- Boosts confidence
- Improves relationship skills
- Helps determine career goals
- Teaches students to accept feedback
- Encourages young people to speak up and be heard
- Helps increase self-worth
The Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program does all of the above and more every single day. We are proud to have a 100% graduation rate among students who have attended our free after school program since 2007. Mentoring and providing strong leadership are some of the keys to our success.
Our Founder and CEO Khali Sweeney joined panelists from Rock Ventures LLC/Quicken Loans, University of Michigan-Dearborn College of Business, ACCESS, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit, Shinola and more to discuss the subject of mentoring on DPTV’s American Black Journal. Several of our students also spoke on-camera to share their insights. Kenedi explained why our rule is “books before boxing” and why students hit the books first each and every day.
“Education is the key to everything,” she said. “You can’t have fun before you do your homework. The fun is not going to help you do [anything], but the homework will.”