I Want to Change the World for Young Urban Athletes

“I didn’t find my passion till after I was hurt,” Christian Bryant says.

Christian, a recipient of a Raise Hope Scholarship at the School of Social Work, tells a tale both devastating and inspirational.

“Growing up in Chicago I saw parents struggle,” Christian says, going back to the roots of his social justice vision, “and I knew kids who didn’t have their needs met. But my situation was different. I played a lot of sports and had a ‘normal’ childhood. Guys I knew only had a mom. My dad was there supporting me at all my games. My friends referred to my dad as their ‘Dad.’

“I wanted to work my way out,” Christian declares. “In high school I started to get attention for football. Once I was at U-M on a full athletic scholarship, I realized how much college actually costs. Lots of my friends didn’t make it out. They stayed home after high school, worked little jobs, got into illegal street things. I lost friends to the prison system or to street violence. I did a self-check-in. If not for my athletic ability I wouldn’t have been at U-M. Not that I personally couldn’t do it, but you have to make public education a more level process. Teachers have to train students better. Academics were not pushed enough in my school.”

Alas, in his freshman year at the Big House, Christian tore his rotator, had surgery, and the verdict was; he had to hang up my cleats. People rushed to ask, “What do you want to do now?”

“I didn’t know,” Christian recalls. “All I’d ever heard was, ‘You’ll be in the NFL.’ Then I had this freak accident. But coming from a family with a big heart, I figured I was put here to help people and see them succeed. I thought, the main reason I’m in college is sports. So I will use sports as the engine to drive myself to another place.”

Enter a figure very familiar to and very much revered by us at the School of Social Work: Greg Harden, MSW, then U-M’s Athletic Director and Director of Athletic Counseling.

Harden asked Christian what he wanted to do. “I told him I wanted to start a nonprofit in Chicago to help high school athletes,” Christian says. “It would be academically based but would use sports as the driving force because it’s what those guys know. We’ll use what they love to change their lives.” Coach Harden heard all this, and told Christian, “That’s social work! It’s a perfect fit for you.’

Harden sent his protégé to Bill Vanderwill, an SSW field educator, to find out how he could use sports in social work. “What Bill said matched exactly what I wanted to do,” Christian remembers. “I was sold.”

But Christian’s family, though enormously supportive, could not afford the tuition. Like many of our students, Christian would need help. A crucial piece of it came in the form of a Raise Hope Scholarship. “Scholarships matter,” Christian declares, “regardless of the amount. A lot of people want to make a change but are scared to take the leap. They need help, just like I did. I was fortunate enough to have people give me a hand to make a difference in the world—at the number one school of social work! I am very appreciative because I have been there, in the financial aid offices, trying to put it together. I know the need, and I know the impact.”