Ladonis Gaillard was one of StreetSquash’s earlier participants, beginning the program in 2002 as a 12-year-old. She learned the game of squash on the courts at The Harvard Club and Columbia University when StreetSquash ran programming from those facilities.

 

Like many participants, she first learned of the program through a presentation at her school, Thurgood Marshall Academy. A nudge from her mother was enough for her to give it a try. 

 

When she showed up to program for the first time, she had a mix of nerves and calmness.

 

Ladonis said, “I wasn’t nervous because I knew the kids there, but I was nervous about learning this new sport and all that came with it.” 

 

She says StreetSquash helped open a whole new world for her. 

 

“It allowed me to come out of my comfort zone because I was really shy,” Ladonis said. “I wouldn’t really talk to anyone, and it gave me the opportunity to socialize, which is what I needed as a middle schooler.” 

 

She fondly recalled going on trips and bonding with her friends and teammates.

 

“We went to New Hampshire,” Ladonis said. “We visited Dartmouth and even went snow tubing. It was so much fun.” 

 

The opportunity to travel outside Harlem was a great experience for her.

 

“We met so many people, not even just within the urban umbrella programs like CitySquash and Squash Busters,” Ladonis said. “We did meet them, but we also met people from private schools – something would not have been able to do if it wasn’t for the sport of squash.” 

 

She noted these opportunities allowed her to learn more about other cultures.

 

“I feel like I’m more accepting of others and accepting of different backgrounds,” Ladonis said. I’m open to learning about everyone because I was exposed to more than just my community.”

 

Ladonis added that even the smallest moments from various trips stand out to her. 

 

“We rode together in vans, which I know doesn’t sound that exciting,” Ladonis said. “But even though you see the people you go to school with every day,  you don’t actually get to spend any time with them. So for everyone who played squash, our bond during the day was stronger than the people at my school who didn’t play squash.” 

 

The biggest benefit she says StreetSquash gave her was helping her choose her college trajectory. 

 

“I went to Quinnipiac University and I wouldn’t have even known about that school if it wasn’t for StreetSquash,” Ladonis said. “Immediately when I saw it, I said, ‘this is the school for me.’” 

 

Her biggest attraction to the university was the fact that they had a major in entrepreneurship, and when she first went to college, her goal was to start a business. Once in college, she had evolving ideas on what she wanted to do. In addition to entrepreneurship, she also took courses in occupational therapy, psychology, and health science studies. 

 

She’s currently a paraprofessional working one-on-one with kids who are part of Individualized Education Programs.

 

She’s extremely grateful that StreetSquash introduced her to Quinnipiac. 

 

“Some of my best friends are people I attended college with,” Ladonis said. “Sometimes I think if I went to a different college, I’d meet other people and make other friends, but I really felt like these were the people for me. These are the people I needed to meet. StreetSquash allowed me to meet my best friends.” 

 

Ladonis says current middle schoolers learning about StreetSquash shouldn’t hesitate to give it a try themselves.

 

“You need to do it right now,” Ladonis said. “This will be the best decision in your school career that you’ll ever make. You’ll meet a ton of people, get introduced to a bunch of things, and you’ll have the time of your life. You won’t regret it.”