This week our Maguire Fellow Spotlight shines on SMU junior Shelby Hill. Shelby is volunteering at the Moorland Family YMCA in Oak Cliff, coaching youth sports and facilitating education enrichment programs.
It is a hot summer afternoon, and just down the white stairwell at the Moorland Family YMCA in Oak Cliff, Shelby Hill and her colleagues guide the student programming participants from the swimming pool to the science and learning rooms inside. It’s a hot day but the students are lively, joking and smiling with one another and their teachers. Whether they’ve come from down the street or nearly an hour’s commute away like Shelby, all of the YMCA supervisors share the same goal of a fun, education summer for their campers.
Shelby was born and raised in Frisco, Texas. She spent her childhood playing a variety of sports and was a member of the marching band. Shelby is dedicating this passion for involvement in athletics and extracurricular activities to inspire the children of the YMCA in South Dallas. Not only is she coaching sports teams but she’s also offering her experience as a tutor and starting a reading challenge for the children. “I want to help them find their potential, whether that potential is in academics or sports, and start them on the road to success.”
Describing Shelby’s daily summer life as busy would be an understatement. She balances volunteering daily at the YMCA with taking a summer class at SMU. As you can imagine, it has been difficult to instill the same drive in the children she works with. “My greatest challenge this summer has been one that probably could’ve been foreseen before I even began volunteering at the Y: getting kids to do math and science in the summer.”
Shelby sees her work at the Y going far beyond her work this summer. “Ultimately, I think this project will encourage me to continue to find ways to help kids of all backgrounds through education.”