I PROMISE Stars
Three years ago, LeBron and The University of Akron (UA) announced a groundbreaking, never-been-done-before partnership. It promised scholarships for Akron Public Schools current and future students of LeBron’s I Promise program, exclusive on-campus real estate for the establishment of an institute, the full research might of the College of Education – now named the LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education – and most importantly, hope. Today, that partnership and promise continues to inspire, empower, and lift up the UA, APS, and Akron communities.
November 6 marked the launch of the third installment of partnership videos highlighting UA, LeBron, and his I Promise students. The video stars six I Promise students, two of whom are freshmen and set to enter college in the fall of 2020. A far cry from the sixth graders they were at the time of the announcement, these freshmen have big plans: Shadavia wants to be a pediatrician and Jayden wants to be a cyber security analyst.
From engineering to education, there’s a spot for our kids at UA.
While the videos are a major part of UA’s fall student recruitment campaign, for LeBron and the Foundation, it’s a message to his kids. "It’s all about sparking hope and fulfilling dreams for my I PROMISE kids," says LeBron, as he opens the spot. Fittingly, he’s standing in both the figurative and literal epicenter of the partnership: The LeBron James Family Foundation College of Education. It’s here thata dedicated faculty creates programs like UA’s I Promise Mentor Class that are proving to be the spark to those dreams.
The incredible people who established this partnership and those who continually push it forward make us darn proud to say, "We are family."
