Emerson, Beat the Streets Coach Boston Youth in Sports Leadership

Emerson’s Communication Studies Department partnered with Beat the Streets New England, a non-profit organization that empowers youth through wrestling, to offer the first Sports Leadership & Communication Youth Summer Program, a five-week workshop to prepare high school athletes to be leaders in their sports and communities.

From July 16 to August 13, students met weekly on campus in workshops exploring communication, civic engagement, and athletics. The program, developed and led by Communication Studies Chair Greg Payne, affiliated faculty member Niko Emack ‘18, and Shepard Vargo, MA ’23, administrative assistant to the chair of Comm Studies, combined instruction, mentoring, and hands-on learning to equip students with the tools to grow as athletes and leaders.

“To be an athlete is to represent your community’s values,” Emack said. “We’re in the diplomat-building business – preparing young people to embrace their civic responsibility.”

Participants learned about civic engagement, public speaking, leadership and culture, conflict resolution, soft power, and emotional wellness, in workshops presented by educators and leaders from the sports world, including Wrestling for Peace Executive Director Daniel Russel; Emerson faculty members Charles Steinberg, president of the Worcester WooSox; Kenneth Grout, Elizabeth Peterson, and Shane Martin; alums Sarah Asem ’00, ’02 (IE Center of Health & Wellness, Madrid), Shannon Felton Spence ’10 (Director of Global Communications and Strategy, Harvard’s Belfer Center), and Sonia Tita Puopolo ’96, MA ‘97 (co-founder/CEO, Wellness World USA), among others.

“The workshop reinforces BTSNE’s mission of using wrestling as a tool for personal and social development,” said Shepard Vargo, co-diector of the summer program. “Our students leave with new mentors, skills, and a stronger sense of purpose.” 

Samir Zazai, a senior wrestling captain at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School who moved to the U.S. from Afghanistan in 2021, called the Summer Program transformative.

“Four years ago, I couldn’t imagine learning from the head coach at Harvard or experts from around the world,” he said. “For many, sports are just a game. For us, it’s community.”