Kevin Durant is likely in preparation to step into a hostile Quicken Loans Arena for Game 4 of the NBA Finals Tonight (June 6) but the former league MVP is reaching outside the court to help youth in the Bay Area community. KD surprised students that he mentored at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula in Menlo Park, California, by paying their college tuition for their first year.
In a video from ESPN, each of the students read their college acceptance letters, which will take them from schools in Menlo Park to as far as Loyola in Chicago. Some of the youth were awarded as first-generation college students.
“I grew up in a similar situation. Here are four kids that have been through so much in their short lives and to be able to get up the next day and keep pushing, keep trucking. I was very proud just to be able to meet them,” Durant shared.
Durant has interacted with the students in being a mentor to their dreams, letting them know anything is possible and being a part of activities like interviewing them as the youth of the year.
“It connected with me so much because just living in unstable households and moving around so many different places and not having someone I could lean on for stuff,” Durant said. “Then going into the rec center and seeing mentors that could help me and support me mentally, I thought that was huge.”
View the stories of the students Durant has assisted below.
