Julie Vryhof
Julie Vryhof serves as an AmeriCorps Academic Tutor & Mentor for Beyond Sports Foundation. Beyond Sports Foundation prepares student-athletes to succeed in life. They work with student-athletes from under-resourced families in under-served communities that will need financial assistance in order to attend college. Many of the student-athletes are from populations that are under-represented on college campuses.
While Julie is new to the program this year, she has already made a big impact on the lives of the student-athletes through her dedication and intentionality. One of the student-athletes, Kayla, shared that Julie encouraged her step up and assist with developing a social justice curriculum for the program. Julie had expressed to Kayla that she would not only be great help, but the experience would help her grow as a person.
In a recent speech competition, Kayla referred to Julie as not just a tutor, but a teammate. She described Julie as, “someone who will cheer you on, believe in you, and have those conversations when you’re not performing to your full potential.” Julie’s AmeriCorps Program Supervisor and AmeriCorps Alum, Carrie Madden, agrees that she embodies these traits in every aspect of her service.
Julie works with student-athletes on strengthening weaknesses, while reminding them how strong they really are. She makes a point to celebrate everyone’s strengths and victories.