Growing up in Long Island, Zach Wahl-Alexander knew exactly what he loved. Baseball. Pitching? Playing shortstop? Yes, please. Game on. And the Big Apple boy was good at it, too, even suiting up for some of the higher-end travel teams in the
Read moreProject FLEX basketball tourney hosts youth from five juvenile justice centers
Three dozen youth in the secure custody of the State of Illinois showed off their hoops skills this spring during the inaugural “FLEX Lloyd Tournament of Champions” basketball tournament at Northern Illinois University’s Anderson Hall. And, between the whistles, they enjoyed another
Read moreProject FLEX hosts hoops tournament, cuts ribbon on new Anderson Hall space
Since Project FLEX launched in 2018, its young participants in the secure custody of the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice have become regular visitors to NIU and Anderson Hall. Now a new experience has taken place for everyone engaged in the initiative
Read moreProject FLEX earns $2.55M to maintain, advance work in juvenile justice centers
Project FLEX has secured a five-year, $2.55 million grant from the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) to continue and expand its work providing positive interventions with youth who are in secure custody of the state. The NIU Department of Kinesiology and
Read moreMore to life? Project FLEX participants discuss how NIU program changed them
Different situations. Different backgrounds. Different races. Different traumas. Different struggles. Yet the four young men facing the audience in the Sky Room of the Holmes Student Center do share one reality – and, for many, it’s potentially insurmountable. Prison. Two already have
Read moreProject FLEX participants to tell stories of how sport offered healing behind bars
Project FLEX somehow continues to surprise Jenn Jacobs and Zach Wahl-Alexander. More than four years have passed since the associate professors in the NIU Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education launched their initiative to deliver structured physical activity and positive life lessons
Read moreThree-time alumnus Tim Mack reflects on eight years at NIU, wisdom of moms
“Dear NIU,” the letter begins. “I can’t believe these past eight years have come to an end. I still remember calling my mom after my very first semester at NIU, contemplating whether college was for me because I barely finished above a
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