Young boy plays baseball despite cancer

Inspirational stories and people can be found in towns and cities around the globe.  One particular young man of note is Hudson Davis of Lafayette, CA.

The Contra Costa Times provided an in-depth article chronicling Hudson’s efforts that one would find truly inspirational.

The 12-year-old from Lafayette is nearing the completion of a Little League season in which he helped pitch and hit his team to first place and was named to his league’s all-star squad. That would be a distinguished achievement for any youngster.

What’s especially remarkable about Hudson is that he did all that while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for a malignant brain tumor discovered long before his season started.

Nothing was going to stop Hudson from playing baseball.  His persistence inspired his parents, coaches, friends, teammates and even Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

For Hudson, the motivation was simple.  He wanted to play baseball.

“The only time you saw a smile on the kid’s face was when he was on the baseball field,” said Greg Davis, Hudson’s father.  “It was the only time he could really escape all the things that were happening to him.  He’s been through hell and back with all the stuff he’s been through.  But playing baseball definitely helped him get through it.”

The best news is that the tumor is gone, and that Hudson had his final radiation treatment on Wednesday. He will continue long-term care for the foreseeable future, but the worst appears to be over and his prognosis for survival is excellent.

Read the entire Contra Costa Times article here.

Near the beginning of his treatment Hudson was befriended by Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Jimmy Rollins was named Major League Baseball’s National League MVP of 2007.  Jimmy dedicated his first homerun of the 2008 season to Hudson.

On May 11, with the Phillies visiting San Francisco to play the Giants, Jimmy invited Hudson down onto the field during batting practice so they could meet and talk face-to-face for the first time.  Jimmy has been a real inspiration for Hudson.

hudson

Sources: contracostatimes.com, abeldogs.com

Orrin Hudson - working to help 1 million kids

Orrin Hudson of BeSomeone, Inc has blazed the trails throughout America teaching youth to “be someone.”  He has been a source of inspiration for many and has also used chess as a stimulus for children to believe in their own ideas and to learn from the decisions they make in life.  A chess champion, U.S. Air Force veteran, and former Alabama State Trooper and entrepeneur, Hudsom points to his own life as proof that every move counts and that winning is a choice.

Orrin was interviewd by Spark Plug Radio in Atlanta about his philosophy and work with kids.  Listen to that here:

Angela Hines - super mom becomes lawyer

Meet Angela Hines, the once-struggling mother of five and public-housing resident from Queens who put herself through hell, and law school, while lavishing the kind of affection on her children that would make any loving parent proud.

Whoever said, “You can’t have it all,” hasn’t met Angela  Hines. “I never really thought of it in those terms,” she says. “But I just knew that if I kept moving forward one step at a time, eventually I’d reach my goal.”

Hines graduated from CUNY Law School and was admitted to the bar in January, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Her professional life as an attorney will cap a career trajectory that includes earning her bachelor’s degree in law and paralegal studies at New York City College of Technology (City Tech), working at various jobs, including spending months as a bus driver at JFK International Airport, and successfully completing her studies at CUNY Law School.

These accomplishments are all the sweeter because during this time Hines struggled as a single mom to bring up a family of five — that’s right, five children! Three were born while she was an undergraduate at City Tech and two while she was working as a paralegal before attending law school.

“Growing up African American in a low-income Queens housing project, I realized early on that getting an education would be my only way out. Often, luck was not on my side,” she explains.  “My Mom died the day before I was to take my placement test for college.” Taking out loans became a way of life for her, a strategy she says she looks at as an investment, “even though I feel like I’ll be paying back forever.”

It’s clear that Hines has imbued her children with her love for education. Today, they are all well on their way. Her 19-year-old is a sophomore at Virginia State; her 17-year-old attends the School of Art and Design; her 14-year-old is studying at Taft, a boarding school in Connecticut; and her seven- and eight-year-olds are both enrolled in the Gifted and Talented program at P.S. 106, their neighborhood elementary school in Far Rockaway, Queens.

“My kids struggled along with me,” she explains. “I realized that I had to stay focused. And I always knew that if I succeeded, they would succeed. It was that simple.”

Succeeding, for her, always also had something to do with helping others. As a resident of Far Rockaway, for example, Hines became familiar with the difficult life situations of immigrants.  She translated that knowledge into becoming the chief administrator of City Tech’s Immigration Clinic for the past four years.

“The clients love her,” says Concetta Mennella, chair of City Tech’s Department of Law and Paralegal Studies, explaining that Hines’s main duties involved supervising work-study students and volunteers. “She’s accomplished wonderful things — like working doggedly to overcome obstacles faced by people whose citizenship applications were first denied by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.”

Hines, who happily states that she married her longtime boyfriend in 2006, says that she plans to devote her legal career to working in the public interest. “Her story is an inspiring example of how an individual can break out of a cramped environment, make positive life decisions, tackle the challenges of earning a bachelor’s degree, move on to complete law school, pass the bar and finally enter a career with the goal of serving the community,” Professor Mennella says.

“Through it all, being a mom didn’t stand in the way of her career moves. And her educational and vocational journey didn’t interfere with her determination to nurture her family. Angela did it all. She’s one of our great against-the-odds success stories,” Mennella says.

New York City College of Technology (City Tech) of The City University of New York is the largest public college of technology in New York State. The College enrolls more than 13,500 students in 57 baccalaureate, associate and specialized certificate programs. Another 15,000 students enroll annually in adult education and workforce development programs, many of which lead to licensure and certification. Located at 300 Jay Street in Downtown Brooklyn, City Tech is at the MetroTech Center academic and commercial complex, convenient to public transportation.

Angela was featured in the NY Daily News earlier this year.  You can read the article titled “Hero mom to be sworn in as lawyer” here.

Sources: NY Daily News, CUNY Newswire,  CUNY

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