Several lucky Chicago area students are headed out of town this weekend, but it's not for an early spring break trip -- it's to attend the NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City, thanks to an initiative from the Black Star Project.
According to Project organizers, several Chicago students and chaperones from the South and West sides will have the chance to travel to Salt Lake City this weekend, to meet with HBCU students and professors, and learn about in the business of sports as part of the weekend's NBAxHBCU Classic and College Fair.
The Black Star Project, which helps helps to create educational and economic opportunities for Black and Latinx communities, gathered donations for the trip to help cover plane tickets, hotel rooms, meals and more.
One student set to attend the trip, Brandon Williams-Orr, says he was made aware of the program through his mom and his basketball coach.
"It will help me because I'll get to build connections," he said, speaking about how networking at the fair could help impact his future goals. "It's all about new experiences, new people. I'm excited to watch the game, and overall have a fun time."
According to organizers, the Black Star Project in 2022 was able to send more than 40 Chicago area students and chaperones to a similar event in Cleveland, Ohio. For this weekend's NBA All-Star Game, they have plans to do the same.
"I'm just happy that I was invited," Brandon said, who has never been to Salt Lake City before. "I's just a gret experience, and I'm looking forward to the things I'll learn on the trip."
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To learn more about this year's trip, visit the event's GoFundMe page.
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