First Tee Game Changers Academy Honoring Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. is an evolution of our longest standing participant event, the Joe Louis Barrow Jr. Life Skills & Leadership Academy, to address the challenges and experiences our teens face in their daily lives and better equip them to build the strength of character to be game changers in their communities.
Participants selected to attend this five-day learning and empowerment academy will participate in important conversations around issues of identity, racism, diversity, equity and inclusion. RISE, a national leader in the sports community championing social justice and working to improve race relations, will facilitate engaging and interactive workshops paired with introspective activities and reflections led by our nationally trained First Tee coaches. The Academy builds throughout the week into a final outreach project in collaboration with DE&I leadership in the local host community.
Event Info
Date: July 19-23, 2022
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Selected Participants
| First Name | Last Name | Chapter |
| Mimi | Merzoian | First Tee — Fresno |
| Joseph | Neddo | First Tee — North Florida |
| Augustin | Nguyen | First Tee — Central Coast |
| Natalie | McKenzie | First Tee — Greater Seattle |
| Alanis | Santiago Maldonado | First Tee — North Florida |
| Jacob | Davis | First Tee — North Florida |
| Dominique | Barksdale | First Tee — Greater Washington, DC |
| Patrick | Bush | First Tee — Pittsburgh |
| Ava | Heaton | First Tee — Triangle |
| Aryana | Persaud | First Tee — Central Florida |
| Maria | Ramos | First Tee — Greater Philadelphia |
| Eugene | Choi | First Tee — Greater Washington, DC |
| Meghan | Sainsbury | First Tee — Western New York |
| Tyler | Joplin | First Tee — Greater Dallas |
| Selam | Olson | First Tee — Connecticut |
| Johnnie | Reed | First Tee — Fort Worth |
| Ethan | Selvers | First Tee — Metropolitan New York |
| Shrey | Shalia | First Tee — Florida Gold Coast |
| Thalia | Hoyos | First Tee — Metropolitan Oklahoma City |
| Henry | Mentzel | First Tee — Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky |
| Katelyn | Jacot | First Tee — Eastern Michigan |
| ClaraGrace | Plath | First Tee — San Joaquin |
| Emma | Dodson | First Tee — Central Coast |
| Kylie | Porter | First Tee — Canton |
| Bruno | Ambrosini | First Tee — Fresno |
| Trevor | Freeman | First Tee — West Michigan |
| Salma | Rivera | First Tee — Silicon Valley |
| Dylan | Walters | First Tee — Benton Harbor |
| Amelia | Garibaldi | First Tee — San Joaquin |
| Lillee-Ann | Jacobs | First Tee — Eastern Michigan |
| Elise | McGirt | First Tee — Raritan Valley |
| Grace | O’Grady | First Tee — Central Ohio |
| Morgan | Pettine | First Tee — Sandhills |
| Madeleine | Wocicki | First Tee — Idaho |
| Haley | Wong | First Tee — Greater Sacramento |
| Victoria | Farkas | First Tee — Fort Worth |
| Jackie | Freibert | First Tee — Greater Charleston |
| Dakota | Stacy | First Tee — Indiana |
| Matthew | White | First Tee — Colorado Rocky Mountains |
| Brett | Lutzke | First Tee — Indiana |
| Isabella | Rubio | First Tee — Florida Gold Coast |
| Thomas | Castellanos | First Tee — Lake County |
| Caitlyn | Plover | First Tee — Greater Philadelphia |
| Nancy | Rivera | First Tee — Silicon Valley |
| Joshua | Brown | First Tee — Greater Philadelphia |
| Brayden | Gallardo | First Tee — Monterey County |
| Faith | Ndichu | First Tee — Raritan Valley |
| Armando | Yanez | First Tee — Greater El Paso |
| Sadie | Currier | First Tee — Greater Houston |
| Naomi | Garcia | First Tee — Lake County |
| Michael | Wade | First Tee — Tennessee |
| Lloyd | Knight | First Tee — Idaho |
| Riley | Yount | First Tee — Greater San Antonio |
| Janie | Brown | First Tee — Augusta |
| Ava | Kemp | First Tee — Canton |
| Isabella | Magno | First Tee — Greater Philadelphia |
| Aniruddh | Mohan | First Tee — Greater Sacramento |
| Jada | Fowlkes | First Tee — Metropolitan New York |
| Brock | Hindman | First Tee — Tulsa |
| Anna | Yourish | First Tee — Pittsburgh |
| Jonathan | Roe | First Tee — Upstate South Carolina |
| Mahamed | Ibrahim | First Tee — Los Angeles |
| Garrison | Warren | First Tee — Pine Mountain |
| Katherine | Miskimen | First Tee — Phoenix |
| Rohan | Rao | First Tee — Greater Trenton |
| Ella | Couper | First Tee — Greater Charlotte |
| Luke | Wood | First Tee — Greater Tyler |
| Andrew | Wolff | First Tee — Tulsa |
| Martin | Perez | First Tee — Greater Houston |
| Emily | Mayo | First Tee — Delaware |
| Jacob | Cameron | First Tee — Central Coast |
| Peter | Chen | First Tee — Greater Washington, DC |
How to Participate
This event is only available to teens involved in chapters of First Tee. Most of the events and programs have a selection process that includes an application reviewed by a committee. Parents, if you want your child to participate, please inquire at your chapter.