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Want a trip to the ESPYS? Be a ‘Game Changer’
4 high school high achievers will win
By Greg Gulas
WARREN
On Oct. 1, the non-profit organization Game Changers will launch the “2016 Scholarship and ESPYS Experience” for male and female high school student-athletes in their sophomore through senior years.
The statewide initiative, led by CEO Michael Engram, a Warren native, will take place over the upcoming academic year and include weekly and monthly honors for both groups.
At the end of the academic year, four winners will receive an all-expense paid trip to the ESPYS on July 13 in downtown Los Angeles at the Microsoft Theater.
Engram, a 1996 graduate of Warren Harding High School, is a 2004 graduate of Bethune-Cookman University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration.
After living in Honolulu for three years, where he served as trainer for the Cheesecake Factory, Engram returned to his hometown in 2013 with the hopes of giving back to not only his community, but the students seeking both academic and professional direction.
“The Cheesecake Factory was in transition as they were set to go international while I was at a fork in the road as far as my professional career was concerned,” Engram said. “I had worked with another non-profit organization, Tied to Greatness, which was male-specific. We’d reach out to schools nationwide and teach self-image, character development and help students learn to present themselves.
“It opened my eyes to the many challenges that students face on a daily basis. When I formed Game Changers, I wanted to have a solid, lasting foundation.”
Much of Engram’s program and curriculum is based on principles from Jim Tressel’s “Winner’s Manual,” so upon his return he made it a point to meet and seek input from the current YSU president.
“I really respect President Tressel and we had an excellent meeting. He embraced what I was doing and gave me some valuable advice and contacts,” Engram added. “We held our leadership enrichment day at YSU this past spring and attracted 50 students from six area high schools. President Tressel was the guest speaker and everything since then has just taken off.”
While the initiative has expanded to include high schools from across the state, that first enrichment program drew students from Austintown Fitch and East in Mahoning County, and Warren Harding, JFK, Howland and Niles in Trumbull County.
Their recently completed eight-week summer session focused on different leadership and team building dynamics.
“To me, a school system in academic watch is unacceptable. It is up to the students to take control of their future,” he said. “Responsibility happens with good teachers and a good home life, but the students have to see the value in taking control of their lives. Unfortunately, not everyone sees that. They need help and I’d like to think that Game Changers will be there to help them.”
Engram’s trip to the ESPYS this past summer yielded positive results.
“I flew out to California and met with ESPYS personnel. The meeting was very positive, they liked my ideas and we are now looking forward to attending next year’s program with our winners,” he said.
The four grand prize winners will be selected next May. All student-athletes must fulfill the program’s three major components over the course of the academic year: education, community service and athletics.
“We want to make sure that the bar is raised. Our state grade is a C so there is room for improvement,” he said. “It’s a proactive, not reactive approach.”
For more information, call 330-529-9808 or visit www.wearegc.org.