Tbarros's Traveler Profile

My name is Tome J Barros. I was born on November 17^th, 1986. I am the eldest of four children to Pedro and Teresa Barros. I have been tremendously blessed to grow up in Dorchester, Massachusetts. I choose to see the positive aspects of the often mistaken neighborhood a few miles south of Downtown Boston. As a child, I took advantage of my opportunity and attended the Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester where I was introduced to organized basketball. From that moment on, basketball hasn't impacted my life it has been my life.   Over the years my affiliation with the Boys & Girls club transitioned from attending open gyms and league games to participating in community service programs, such as Keystone club and after school part time/summer employment. The Boys and Girls club became my safe haven. Had it not been for my love of the game of basketball and the attributes I gained on the court, I would never grown into the person I am today off the court. I credit my accomplishments of "Youth of the Year" Award Winner (2004) and "Boy of the Year" Award Winner (2005) and my acceptance into an elite high school, from my participation at the Boys and Girls Club.  Basketball opened doors for me to participate in activities I may otherwise have been fearful to tryout.   In 2001, I enrolled at Boston College High School as an enthusiastic, vibrant young man. During those four years, My personality developed and I grew into a more well-rounded person. Our motto was to be "men for others". This wasn't always something that was easy for me to follow but as I matured, I knew that it was the direction I wanted my life to take.   I learned to be thankful for every single day I wake up. "Live it up" is a phrase that I live by, it means don't leave anything for tomorrow that you can do today. "Live it up" is part of my personality because it reminds me of my cousin who often used the term before he passed away.  My "Live it up" personality is displayed in everything I do. I graduated from BC High in 2005.   I just recently graduated from Hampton University, where President Mr. Barack Obama was the guest speaker at the commencement ceremony. I chose Hampton University because of its Business program. I noticed the major difference between Hampton and many other colleges or university's business program was that Hampton University offered Entrepreneurship as a major. I have made plenty of connections and memories that will motivate my entrepreneurial spirit to initiate a new business plan for my future projects similar to this one.                          For the past three summers I have had the opportunity to work closely with Boston's inner-city youth as the Assistant Athletic Director of Camp Harborview. I love working with youth because they are full of energy and there is never a dull moment. As an instructor, I find it motivating that not only the youth appreciate my work but also their parents. For the next ten months I will be traveling overseas to Senegal, Brazil and Cape Verde on a basketball sabbatical. I plan to teach basketball, AIDs/HIV awareness and proper exercise.                          My future aspirations are to work in the field of basketball. I see myself serving as an assistant coach for any level of high school basketball. In order for me to gain more experience I feel that the assistant coach position would be crucial. I want to become a student of the game once again and relearn the x's and o's. It will be important for me to work with a head coach and learn from him/her before progression to a head-coaching job. I am extremely excited and cannot wait for a coach to take me under their wing, allowing me to become a better coach by learning basketball as part of their coaching staff.