The following feature first appeared in the football game program on Sept. 11, 2021.

On the court, the Wayne State men's basketball team is hoping to build on its success from last season, when it qualified for the NCAA Tournament before falling to Ashland in the first round.

Off the court, that same team is looking to build on a 13-year tradition of volunteering with the Local Intervention Network for Kids (L.I.N.K.), a nonprofit organization that has provided workforce development mentoring to more than 3,000 Detroit area youth since 2007. 

The Wayne State men's basketball team has each year visited a local middle school to tutor, mentor and be a role model for students as part of the athletic department's commitment to community service. The team's commitment to L.I.N.K. was recognized earlier this year as Wayne State was named a finalist for the NCAA Division II Award of Excellence, which recognizes initiative in the past year that "exemplifies the Division II philosophy, community engagement and student-athlete leadership." Only 28 schools in Division II were named finalists.

"We try to make our community service hours impactful and we like to be involved directly with students," said E.J. Haralson, assistant men's basketball coach at Wayne State for the past 18 seasons whose responsibilities include organizing community service projects. "We try to teach the students life skills and they get to talk about things they think are shortcomings for them. When they find out those are things all of us as young men growing up in the inner city deal with, it's eye opening and encouraging for them to know that other people have gone through those situations."

The Award of Excellence began as the Division II Community Engagement Award in 2008, and it was accompanied by a Division II Game Environment Award in 2010. In 2014, Division II combined the two awards to allow for larger prizes and prestige to those member conferences or institutions that participated.

Nina Jackson, the founder and executive director of the L.I.N.K. organization, raved about the men's basketball team's contributions to students.

"When we started in 2007, we recruited a lot of different sports teams, and the basketball team was the one that stuck around," she said. "The kids love seeing the student-athletes when they come into the building, and the student-athletes help inspire kids to think about things like college."

Students opt-in to the program and voluntarily give up their lunch hour in order to meet with volunteers — in this case, the Wayne State men's basketball team. Discussion topics range depending on the makeup of the student cohort, and Haralson said the team has looked to shift its mentorship focus in recent years.

"It initially began with just going to help out with homework and helping to deal with life issues, all under the parameters of a particular school," Haralson said. "Then these last couple of years we've gravitated toward a focus of entrepreneurship."

Jackson called the players' approach with students "phenomenal" and quickly rattled off a list of former Wayne State student-athletes, including Michael Lewis, a forward who played from 2012-2017, who were involved from their freshman year all the way until graduation. 

The L.I.N.K. program has many student success stories — including Jackson's son, who is now 23 and serving as a mentor — and Jackson attributes part of that success to the Wayne State basketball players involved in the L.I.N.K. program, as well as Haralson, who she calls "the epitome of an ice-breaker."

"Some students start the program with an I-don't-know-you, resistant attitude," Jackson said. "But then the student-athletes come, they talk about sports, and that apprehension melts away after the first meeting.

"Then the kids can't wait until the next week."

Haralson said the program also benefits members of the basketball team by providing them with an opportunity to learn and grow as mentors.

"They get a chance to see that young people look up to them," he said. "Sometimes as a college athlete, you're concerned about yourself and things you have to do. This program allows them to give back and shows them that they can actually help other people."

Though the students change each year, and members of the men's basketball team cycle in and out, many mentors and mentees stay in touch — with WSU players even attending some of the middle school graduations — and Haralson even says he runs into a few of the past mentees while out recruiting. 

He added that the recognition of being an Award of Excellence finalist is motivating for the players, as it demonstrates the impact the men's basketball team has had (and is still having) on the mentees.

Like most daily activities, the men's basketball-L.I.N.K. program relationship has been interrupted — but not halted — by the COVID-19 pandemic. Virtual mentoring has replaced the in-person experience during the student's lunch hour. 

Jackson is also looking forward to expanding L.I.N.K. to more schools and recruiting mentors for after-school time slots. 

For more information on the L.I.N.K. program, please visit localinterventionnetworkforkids.org.