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Photos
Although life may deal you a bad hand, don't give up.
That was the message delivered to the Mentors Matters group by Josh Sullenberger on Aug. 3 at Rollandia Golf Center.
Sullenberger, who is the Executive Director of the YMCA in Huber Heights, told the kids about how things weren't easy for him from the start. Sullenberger's mother gave birth to Josh when she was 19. According to Sullenberger, she was not ready to raise a child.
Eventually, he moved in with his grandmother, who provided a stable presence in his life.
During this time, Sullenberger would travel up to the local "Y" to hang out and play sports with his friends. The problem is, he didn't have a membership. He would wait for his friends to sneak in, and then meet them at a back door.
The plan worked for Sullenberger quite a bit, until one day a YMCA staffer was waiting for him. This happened again on multiple occasions. Finally, the staffer who caught Sullenberger trying to sneak in brought him to speak in front of the organization's executive director.
Sullenberger was asked why he didn't just buy a pass. He explained to the man that he couldn't afford one and that his grandma wouldn't buy him one. She just told him to "figure it out" if he wanted to continue participating in activities at the Y. His way of "figuring it out", was to sneak in.
The director made Sullenberger, who was in third grade at the time, a deal. If he worked at the Y for two weeks, he would be given a membership.
Sullenberger agreed and bagged penny candy for two weeks. At the end of his job, he was presented with a Y pass.
It was the first time that someone had made a promise to him and followed through, Sullenberger said.
Sullenberger loved having his pass, but he still wasn't able to stay out of trouble. As he got older, he got into altercations with other Y members.
On one occasion, during a soccer game, Sullenberger reacted to the trash-talk of an opposing player. Sullenberger, frustrated by the opponent, finally told him what he thought.
That person ended up waiting for Sullenberger after the game. Sullenberger was shoved and ended up throwing the other boy through a window. The boy turned out to be ok, but Sullenberger was kicked out of one of the few things he could count on in his life.
Eventually, Sullenberger was aloud back into the Y. He couldn't escape trouble, though. At age 18 during a basketball game, a man was really heckling Sullenberger. The man even made remarks about Sullenberger's girlfriend, who was in attendance. Sullenberger, upset by the comments, punched the man.
The police were called and Sullenberger was escorted out of the Y. The man ended up in the hospital for three days.
Again, Sullenberger lost the second most important thing in his life, the Y.
To top that off, Sullenberger wasn't pulling his weight at Wright State. He was asked to leave because of academic and disciplinary problems.
Sullenberger said that college offered to much freedom and that he wasn't ready for that during that point of his life.
Sullenberger, with no options left, moved back to his grandma's "with nothing."
He took part-time jobs here and there, and eventually went back to the Y. He quietly bought a pass, wearing his hat low so he wouldn't be recognized.
He would go up there during the day and shoot hoops when he wasn't working.
Then something happened. A man started yelling his name. Sullenberger tried to ignore him, but the man was persistent in getting his attention.
"You've got into as much trouble as any kid I know," the Y employee said. "How would you like a job walking around the building making sure kids stay out of trouble?"
Just like that, the Y was back in Sullenberger's life making a difference.
Not long after he took the position, a man responsible for overseeing sports programs left to pursue a baseball career. Sullenberger talked to his boss about getting the job.
His boss wasn't receptive to the idea. When he found out that Sullenberger wasn't in college and had no degree, he said no.
Sullenberger inquired about the job a few months later. His boss gave him the same answer, but gave Sullenberger something to think about.
If Sullenberger were enrolled in school, the two could talk about filling the position.
This motivated Sullenberger, who went through a lengthy process to get re-enrolled at Wright State.
Once he got in, he told his boss his expected graduation date. His boss said Sullenberger could have the job he wanted as long as he didn't push back his gradation date.
Sullenberger agreed.
Not long after he was back in school, Sullenberger realized a tough truth. He would not be able to graduate on time by taking 12 hours a quarter. He needed to take more and begged his adviser for the opportunity. He did not want to let his boss down.
The adviser game him an opportunity to take 18 credit hours during the summer. Sullenberger didn't waste the opportunity. He achieved good grades and was aloud to take more than the maximum limit for hours in a quarter. During his last quarter, he took 23 credit hours. He said it was his best quarter of school academically.
He graduated on time and got the job. He continued to work his way up with the Y and even opened up 3 new YMCA's in his career.
On the golf side of things, the kids worked on their swings in preparation for Thursday's scramble. Fun will be had by all when the kids hit the course.
Mentors Matters wraps up next week at 11 am.
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