By Jose M.

I still remember the day that it all started. I was working at the East Oakland Youth Development Center (EOYDC) and I had to get something from the front desk. Ms. Regina was at the front desk at the time. As I was making copies of a drawing that I had done, Ms. Regina approached me and told me that I was one of the few selected to go to New York on a college tour with Nnamdi Asomugha. I was excited because I had never been to New York and I was told that everything was going to be paid for.

As the day came close to leave for New York I had the chance to meet with Mr. Asomugha and get acquainted with him. I already knew that Mr. Asomugha was going to be a good and friendly character because of what I had heard about him from my fellow co-workers. When I got to meet him he was indeed very friendly and funny. He acted like a regular person and not like a huge celebrity that thinks they are too good to be seen with some people.

The day finally came and we were ready to go to New York. When we got to the airport we met the other group that was going with us. Besides the six students from EOYDC that were going to NY we also had four students from the Young Musician Program. We introduced ourselves and automatically bonded.

After arriving in NYC, we went to the hotel and got a bite to eat at Applebees.  Around 2 PM we caught the subway to Brooklyn and walked around NYU campus. Most of us didn’t know what we were doing but another student that came with us, named Taylor, had done her homework and knew exactly what the buildings were about. I had a great time and thought that it was going to be over. I was wrong.  Nnamdi had a surprise for us. We were going to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a long bridge and when we finished, Nnamdi took us to a pizza place that was located under the Brooklyn Bridge. The pizza was very delicious and I highly recommend it for anyone that visits Brooklyn. Once we finished eating, we went back to the hotel, thanked Nnamdi and discussed what the next day was going to look like.

Our second day in NY we got on the subway, took it all the way to a school called Juilliard. At Juilliard, we received a special tour from a student. Her reason for attending Juilliard was that she was very talented on the piano. She demonstrated her skills and we all agreed that she was very good.

Our third day we had to wake up at 4:30am to go to ABC Good Morning America. We were in line for about 30 to 45 minutes before they let us in. Once we were inside we were given a special, behind-the-scenes tour of the place where we were able to see how everything worked. When that tour was over we went back downstairs and got into our spot. We had the spotlight on us the last 5 minutes of the show. After the show, we were told that we were going to see former president Bill Clinton. When we arrived, we got to look around his office and before we knew it he walked in. At that moment, I could not believe I was in the same room with him.  He gave us a private tour of his office and told us about all the special and unique things he had in his office. When Mr. Clinton had to go, it was about time for us to go as well. As we were walking to Columbia University, we made an unexpected stop at The Apollo Theater. We were given a tour by the owner of The Apollo Theater where people got the chance to perform in the same spot that many celebrities have in the past. After the Apollo, we checked out Columbia University. We received a tour by a student and he showed us the good parts of the school.

Next, we checked out The New School. They made us go into the room were they showed us a video of all the different things that The New School had to offer. After the video, we were given a tour of the campus. When the tour was over, we headed to the Statue of Liberty. On our boat ride, the closer we got to statue the bigger and bigger it got. After the Statue of Liberty, we saw Ellis Island, which is a remarkable place.  When we were done checking out these places, Nnamdi took us out to eat.

On our last day, we walked around NY City, went shopping and got to meet the woman that played Princess Leia in Star Wars(Carrie Fisher). When it was time to get back together, we ate our last dinner, the ran back to our hotel to get the shuttle to the airport.

I just want to thank Mr. Asomugha for giving me this chance and for being a cool friend. I really appreciate everything he did for me and to the nine others to whom he gave the same chance.