Recently, Oakland Raiders Pro Bowl long snapper Jon Condo visited students in the Wilson Reading and Learning Center's after school program at Wilson Elementary School in Richmond, Calif. The students were excited to spend the afternoon with a professional football player and listen to his thoughts on hard work and education.
Condo helped the dedicated staff of Wilson Elementary inspire the students to take an active role in their future and education. "The after school program serves economically disadvantaged children," said Reginald Figgs, Director of Wilson's Reading and Learning Center. "We are hoping here at Wilson, through the after school program, we can offer private school activities to a public school. By having a member of the Raiders organization come out to talk to our kids, it gives them drive."
Condo spoke to the students about the importance education has for achieving goals. "I'm hoping that they take their schooling seriously and work hard because, believe me, it was one of my dreams as a kid to be a pro athlete," said Condo. "Everyone always told me that hard work always pays off in the long run and that's what I tried to tell them. Hopefully they will take that to heart."
Figgs hopes that the visit from Condo motivates the young students. "To the younger kids it showed that somebody cared about them," said Figgs. "Somebody as big as a player for the Oakland Raiders took time to come out to their school."
