Life-Altering Experiences - Optimist Club of San Antonio

January 8

Dr. Eli Whitney

"Life-Altering Experiences"

While the country wrestled with the social changes of those tumultuous times in 1964, a 13-year-old kid living in a tough Washington neighborhood spent many of his days "drinking vodka, stealing and vandalizing." Edwin " Eli " Whitney, now a cardiologist at the Heart and Vascular Institute of Texas in San Antonio, was living on the edge and precariously close to falling into a lifetime of heartache.

I was just one of the gang," Whitney says now. "If people were doing it, I was doing it. Going to a basketball camp at St. John's High School in Washington "was a real fork in the road" for Whitney, who in 1964 was preparing for his freshman year. "Coach Wootten taught us that if you want to make something out of your life, you have to do what's right and not follow the crowd," Whitney said. "He stressed being good on the court and off the court. He said that for every hour you put on the court, put an hour in the classroom. "I just realized that I wasn't doing right and started to change. I got hooked on basketball.

Since Slam Dunk for Life was founded 6 years ago, principles and counselors comment on sending 20-22 trouble makers and these kids come back with a new attitude on life. He tells the kids that you get paid for having brains, education, hard work, and honesty. His speaking as an employer has a bigger impact on the students.

Last year he did an experiment and went to the first grade level with the same speech as he gave to the middle schools and high school students. When asking the first graders what was most important to them, he found out that kids wanted to have fun and were not interested in economics. He feels that the earlier that you intervene, the better chance you have at making a greater impact. His comment to the first graders was “in the real world – don’t the people who make more money have the more fun jobs?” And of course he brought out his safari pictures with his latest kills.

Last year Slam Dunk took Kindergarten and first grade students on field trips to Sea World behind the scenes, Randolph Air Force Base, and UTSA robotics lab. These were fun and exciting field trips with an emphasis on the necessity of education, hard work, and honesty to be able to have a fun and exciting job.

In a thank you letter the first grade teacher stated, “I have been truly amazed at the change in both groups of students with respect to their interest in obtaining higher education and interest in avoiding the pitfalls that have plagued many of their family members. Historically, I have never heard any of these children articulate a desire to attend college or discuss a reasonable plan to attend college. Also historically, only half the children in my class room do their first grade homework on a regular basis. Since your visit and the fieldtrips, I virtually have had 100% of homework turned in and all the children are talking about and making a plan to attend college.”

Many kids get the impression that school is drudgery; schooling opens a world of opportunities.

Slam Dunk for Life has committed to the field trip program and has served over 2,300 kids. The support of The World’s Greatest Optimist Club is greatly appreciated for this very beneficial program.