Meet the 2008 Hoops Sagrado Participants

We're all set (and hopefully packed) and ready to leave today Wednesday July 16. We've got much better Internet access this year so we hope to do a lot more blogging, so please check back often. In the meantime, please meet the 2008 Hoops Sagrado Participants....

Akasha is a 2-time Hoops participant, will be a sophmore at Georgetown Day School in the fall and can usually be found on most weekends working with her mom at Eastern Market.

Alex will be joining Hoops for part of the trip for the fourth time. He'll be a senior at The Field School in the fall and was named MVP of the Potomac Valley Championship basketball game this year.

Bookie is a first-time Hoops participant and a rising senior at Cesar Chavez. Bookie came to our program by a stroke of luck and let's hope she bring some luck to the ladies' basketball team!

Brandon is a three time Hoops participant and will be a senior at The Field School in the fall. In addition to being one of our star players, Brandon will also be working with local potters in Guatemala to prepare for his AP ceramics class in the fall.

Brittany is June graduate of Hydy Leadership Public Charter School. She plays rugby and basketball and will be participating in City Year when we get back to D.C. in August.

Breezy is a first-time Hoops participant and graduate of Winona State. Breezy would like find a career helping children in foreign countries, lets hope she survives the kids from D.C.!

Connor is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a junior at DeMatha in the fall. Connor is a Hoops "legacy" as his brother went with us in 2002 (but Connor insists he's much better at basketball).

Damien (Baby Shaq) is a 2-time Hoops participant. Shaq is back with Hoops for the 10th Anniversary after taking a couple of years off to finish school and work.

Imani is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a sophmore at Montgomery Blair in the fall. Although not a baller, Imani said she's game for trying to round out the girls team.

Jasmine is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a junior at Thurgood Marshall Academy in the fall. Jasmine has a great volunteer spirit and has put that to good use on a variety of projects including in New Orleans.

Jeffrey is a first-time Hoops participant and Hoops legacy. His counsin Shaq was a 2003 Hoops volunteer and will be with us this year. Jeffrey will be a junior at Maya Angelou Public Charter school in the fall.

Jerrod is a first-time Hoops participant and graduate of MM Washington. Instead of working at Harris Teeter like just about everyone else, Jerrod decided to come to Guate with us, for which we are very excited.

Johari is a 3-time participant in Hoops Sagrado and will be a junior at School Without Walls in the fall. Johari is working on getting his pilot's license (how cool is that?!).

Jordyn is a 2-time Hoops participant and will be a sophmore at Paul VI in the fall. According to Jordyn, if she hadn't been able to come back to Guatemala this year, she would have spent the summer crying.

Kara is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a senior at Cesar Chavez School of Public Policy in the fall. She's studied Guatemala quite a bit in school and is anxious to see it for herself.

Lexus is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a junior at Maya Angelou Public Charter School in the fall. Lexus is not only a ball player, but also a bit of an artist so we're looking forward to seeing what he and our resident artist Aniekan can come up with.

Melody is a first-time Hoops participant and will be a junior at Thurgood Marshall Academy in the fall. Melody loves to dance so we're looking forward to her putting those skills to work as part of the Hoops Sagrado Knights cheering squad.

Nadia is a 2-time Hoops participant and a recent graduate of Cesar Chavez School of Public Policy. Nadia's not sure what's on her agenda for next year, but we're just glad she's back with us for at least part of another summer.

Ronald is a 2-time Hoops participant and will be a senior at The Field School in the fall. Ronald will be teaching English in one of the village schools this year.

Stan is a 4-time Hoops participant and recent graduate of Michigan State University. Stan is currently interning at the Pew Charitable Trusts but was able to get time off to go to Guate.

Tyler will be a 10th grader at Elizabeth Seaton in the fall. She's passionate about basketball and is looking forward to improving her Spanish-language skills.

This year's "adults" are:
Aniekan is a 6-time Hoops participant and glad that he's able to renew his Zoloft prescription while in Guate...he'll be painting a mural again this year.

Bryan is a 10-time Hoops participant and after much consideration, the Hoops selection committee decided to allow him to join us for the 10th Anniversary.

Mindy is a 5-time Hoops participant and extremely glad that she'll be able to "work from Guatemala" during this busy election year.