Tiger Woods Finds a Higher Calling in Anaheim
Posted by: Scott W. Graves | 03/02/2008 6:03 PM
By Jennifer Bohler
It's hard to imagine an incredible athlete like Tiger Woods, who has found extraordinary success on the green, would search outside his profession for something more satisfying in life, especially after wrapping up a banner year on the course by becoming the first golfer to win back-to-back titles last December at the Target World Challenge. But at the end of every World Challenge victory, he donates his million dollar winnings to a cause even closer to his heart than the game of golf: the Tiger Woods Learning Center (TWLC) in Anaheim, California and other Tiger Woods Foundation sponsored programs.
In February 2006, Tiger stepped off the course and returned to Anaheim where former President Bill Clinton and California's First Lady, Maria Shriver, joined him in the dedication of the Tiger Woods Learning Center, an innovative after-school program guiding students in the pursuit of their dream careers through a dynamic curriculum supplemental to daily schooling. The TWLC had thrown open its doors one month prior inviting students from Orange, LA, and Riverside Counties to participate in interactive academic and character enrichment programs designed to explore careers in fields related to science, math, and technology.
"So many of [the students] come from environments where they don't really get a challenge," says TWLC Chairman of the Board, Dale Dykema, "This is an opportunity for them to be exposed to some of the disciplines, so that they have an opportunity to think 'maybe what I do with my life is something beyond what I've seen in my own environment.'"
You Learned What in School Today?
Grades five and six are in the Career Orientation phase where students play Crime Scene Investigator, accumulating evidence and eventually identifying a suspect in a mock crime scene. These students even go so far as analyzing fingerprints and learning how to extract DNA.
The Career Exploration Program allows seventh and eighth graders to investigate genetics, robotics, business, and other fields. Hands-on projects include labs at the TWLC and off campus field trips.
High schoolers choose from fields like Aerospace, Communications, Digital Manufacturing, Multimedia, Robotics, Universal Science or Engineering in the Career Preparation program. They can learn photography, audio/video, animation, and much more. Opportunities for internships and scholarships around the country are available and mentors from their field of choice utilize job shadowing to help students understand the daily realities of a career.
"It is really satisfying to see what's being accomplished over there in terms of challenging the kids," says Dykema. "Seeing Tiger be able to accomplish his goal of challenging students to think big in terms of their career, seeing these kids and the excitement they have for being exposed to the programs."
Other services at the center include a speaker series, which profiles working individuals who want to share the process of achieving their dream job and an SAT preparation course and full practice test, which can be quite expensive from other sources. Tutoring is also available.
Developing Character
The Tiger Woods Learning Center hopes to reach students beyond the classroom by teaching character driven lessons.
"We expose them to positive youth development," says TWLC Executive Director Kathy Bihr, "Equal parts of high academic rigor and developing the individual."
Based on a book written by Tiger's father and mentor (the late Earl Woods) entitled Start Something: You Can Make a Difference, Character Education at the TWLC teaches students life lessons that extend beyond academia--lessons that Earl instilled in his son, like honesty, integrity, the importance of team work, and how to deal with a bully, says Bihr.
A New Wave of Techies
The TWLC programs take place in a 35,000-square-foot facility similar to a university utilizing the most advanced technology to date. Seven classrooms are equipped with SMART™ interactive whiteboards and projection systems and are themed according to various career fields such as space technology, communications, engineering, and filmmaking. One hundred wireless laptop stations are abuzz in the computer lab for coursework and for personal use. All students have access to one of the additional 90 laptops with wireless capability, which they may use in class or check out for homework purposes.
The stadium-seated Target Auditorium seats 230 and boasts a theater-sized screen, teleconferencing capabilities, and professional presentation equipment used for community outreach, performances, and innovative learning. In this space, the performing arts classes have plenty of room to create. Photovoltaic panels outside the auditorium generate power from sunlight, demonstrating how the building itself is a lesson in technology.
Being of Sound Mind and Body
Nutrition and fitness are of the utmost importance for an active mind and body. That is why the TWLC café serves well-balanced meals and snacks with beautiful views of the golf course. That's right. Tiger Woods' 14-acre facility would not be complete without a sports ground for his game of choice, namely a 10-acre driving range employing 20 tee stations and an 18-hole putting course to release the mind after a long day of learning.
Although recreation is important, the TWLC also hopes golf lessons will teach students the importance of following rules, good etiquette on and off the course, and good sportsmanship.
Students at the TWLC pay only $5.00 for this array of education, which simply buys them the ID badge necessary to utilize the facility. The Tiger Woods Foundation and many other generous donors have made this education virtually free to students and their parents.
Par for the Course
Just as his father expected, Tiger's philanthropic activities are becoming as highly recognized as his success on the course.
"Earl was very committed to the concept that if you care about something you need to share what you've learned." Says Bihr of Woods' father. Perhaps this is Tiger's way of following in his father's footsteps.
The TWLC has already seen success. Eight thousand students utilized the new center in its initial year followed by a 50% membership increase in 2007.
"My goal for the TWLC is to provide students with a place to explore their dreams and open doors to new opportunities and potential career paths," Woods said at the TWLC dedication. "This is their center, and I hope it serves as a launching pad to great success."
For more information on the Tiger Woods Learning Center or make a donation, please visit www.twlc.org.
BONUS: The Tiger Woods Foundation
In 1996, Tiger and his father, Earl Woods, established the Tiger Woods Foundation (TWF) to help kids all over America achieve their dreams in education, character development, and career exploration. In 11 years, the foundation has touched more than 10 million youngsters through scholarships, grants, junior golf teams, and the Tiger Woods learning center. Tiger and his foundation hope to develop learning centers across the country and abroad. Several notable fundraisers for the foundation include Tiger Jam, an annual benefit concert at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas; the Block Party at The Grove in Anaheim with a golfing exhibition, silent auction, and musical guests; and the Target World Challenge, a week long competition hosted by Tiger Woods including the top 11 golfers from the official World Golf Rankings.
For more information on the Tiger Woods Foundation or to make a donation, visit www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org.
BONUS: Just in the Nick of Time
The President's annual State of the Union address followed the TWLC's grand opening by just a few weeks. In his address, the president introduced the American Competitiveness Initiative, stating that the US is in danger of losing its preeminence in technology and technologically related fields including math, science and engineering. On a related note, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that jobs requiring science, engineering or technical training will increase 24 percent between 2004 and 2014. President Bush has since signed his Academic Competitiveness Initiative into law, which intends to bolster U.S. education.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, "The American Competitiveness Initiative commits $5.9 billion in FY 2007, and more than $136 billion over 10 years, to increase investments in research & development, and strengthen education and workforce training."
For more information about the American Competitiveness Initiative, visit www.ed.gov
It's hard to imagine an incredible athlete like Tiger Woods, who has found extraordinary success on the green, would search outside his profession for something more satisfying in life, especially after wrapping up a banner year on the course by becoming the first golfer to win back-to-back titles last December at the Target World Challenge. But at the end of every World Challenge victory, he donates his million dollar winnings to a cause even closer to his heart than the game of golf: the Tiger Woods Learning Center (TWLC) in Anaheim, California and other Tiger Woods Foundation sponsored programs.
In February 2006, Tiger stepped off the course and returned to Anaheim where former President Bill Clinton and California's First Lady, Maria Shriver, joined him in the dedication of the Tiger Woods Learning Center, an innovative after-school program guiding students in the pursuit of their dream careers through a dynamic curriculum supplemental to daily schooling. The TWLC had thrown open its doors one month prior inviting students from Orange, LA, and Riverside Counties to participate in interactive academic and character enrichment programs designed to explore careers in fields related to science, math, and technology.
"So many of [the students] come from environments where they don't really get a challenge," says TWLC Chairman of the Board, Dale Dykema, "This is an opportunity for them to be exposed to some of the disciplines, so that they have an opportunity to think 'maybe what I do with my life is something beyond what I've seen in my own environment.'"
You Learned What in School Today?
Grades five and six are in the Career Orientation phase where students play Crime Scene Investigator, accumulating evidence and eventually identifying a suspect in a mock crime scene. These students even go so far as analyzing fingerprints and learning how to extract DNA.
The Career Exploration Program allows seventh and eighth graders to investigate genetics, robotics, business, and other fields. Hands-on projects include labs at the TWLC and off campus field trips.
High schoolers choose from fields like Aerospace, Communications, Digital Manufacturing, Multimedia, Robotics, Universal Science or Engineering in the Career Preparation program. They can learn photography, audio/video, animation, and much more. Opportunities for internships and scholarships around the country are available and mentors from their field of choice utilize job shadowing to help students understand the daily realities of a career.
"It is really satisfying to see what's being accomplished over there in terms of challenging the kids," says Dykema. "Seeing Tiger be able to accomplish his goal of challenging students to think big in terms of their career, seeing these kids and the excitement they have for being exposed to the programs."
Other services at the center include a speaker series, which profiles working individuals who want to share the process of achieving their dream job and an SAT preparation course and full practice test, which can be quite expensive from other sources. Tutoring is also available.
Developing Character
The Tiger Woods Learning Center hopes to reach students beyond the classroom by teaching character driven lessons.
"We expose them to positive youth development," says TWLC Executive Director Kathy Bihr, "Equal parts of high academic rigor and developing the individual."
Based on a book written by Tiger's father and mentor (the late Earl Woods) entitled Start Something: You Can Make a Difference, Character Education at the TWLC teaches students life lessons that extend beyond academia--lessons that Earl instilled in his son, like honesty, integrity, the importance of team work, and how to deal with a bully, says Bihr.
A New Wave of Techies
The TWLC programs take place in a 35,000-square-foot facility similar to a university utilizing the most advanced technology to date. Seven classrooms are equipped with SMART™ interactive whiteboards and projection systems and are themed according to various career fields such as space technology, communications, engineering, and filmmaking. One hundred wireless laptop stations are abuzz in the computer lab for coursework and for personal use. All students have access to one of the additional 90 laptops with wireless capability, which they may use in class or check out for homework purposes.
The stadium-seated Target Auditorium seats 230 and boasts a theater-sized screen, teleconferencing capabilities, and professional presentation equipment used for community outreach, performances, and innovative learning. In this space, the performing arts classes have plenty of room to create. Photovoltaic panels outside the auditorium generate power from sunlight, demonstrating how the building itself is a lesson in technology.
Being of Sound Mind and Body
Nutrition and fitness are of the utmost importance for an active mind and body. That is why the TWLC café serves well-balanced meals and snacks with beautiful views of the golf course. That's right. Tiger Woods' 14-acre facility would not be complete without a sports ground for his game of choice, namely a 10-acre driving range employing 20 tee stations and an 18-hole putting course to release the mind after a long day of learning.
Although recreation is important, the TWLC also hopes golf lessons will teach students the importance of following rules, good etiquette on and off the course, and good sportsmanship.
Students at the TWLC pay only $5.00 for this array of education, which simply buys them the ID badge necessary to utilize the facility. The Tiger Woods Foundation and many other generous donors have made this education virtually free to students and their parents.
Par for the Course
Just as his father expected, Tiger's philanthropic activities are becoming as highly recognized as his success on the course.
"Earl was very committed to the concept that if you care about something you need to share what you've learned." Says Bihr of Woods' father. Perhaps this is Tiger's way of following in his father's footsteps.
The TWLC has already seen success. Eight thousand students utilized the new center in its initial year followed by a 50% membership increase in 2007.
"My goal for the TWLC is to provide students with a place to explore their dreams and open doors to new opportunities and potential career paths," Woods said at the TWLC dedication. "This is their center, and I hope it serves as a launching pad to great success."
For more information on the Tiger Woods Learning Center or make a donation, please visit www.twlc.org.
BONUS: The Tiger Woods Foundation
In 1996, Tiger and his father, Earl Woods, established the Tiger Woods Foundation (TWF) to help kids all over America achieve their dreams in education, character development, and career exploration. In 11 years, the foundation has touched more than 10 million youngsters through scholarships, grants, junior golf teams, and the Tiger Woods learning center. Tiger and his foundation hope to develop learning centers across the country and abroad. Several notable fundraisers for the foundation include Tiger Jam, an annual benefit concert at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas; the Block Party at The Grove in Anaheim with a golfing exhibition, silent auction, and musical guests; and the Target World Challenge, a week long competition hosted by Tiger Woods including the top 11 golfers from the official World Golf Rankings.
For more information on the Tiger Woods Foundation or to make a donation, visit www.tigerwoodsfoundation.org.
BONUS: Just in the Nick of Time
The President's annual State of the Union address followed the TWLC's grand opening by just a few weeks. In his address, the president introduced the American Competitiveness Initiative, stating that the US is in danger of losing its preeminence in technology and technologically related fields including math, science and engineering. On a related note, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that jobs requiring science, engineering or technical training will increase 24 percent between 2004 and 2014. President Bush has since signed his Academic Competitiveness Initiative into law, which intends to bolster U.S. education.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, "The American Competitiveness Initiative commits $5.9 billion in FY 2007, and more than $136 billion over 10 years, to increase investments in research & development, and strengthen education and workforce training."
For more information about the American Competitiveness Initiative, visit www.ed.gov
CATEGORY:
Magazine (Winter 2008)
Tiger Woods has been so very generous and understanding. Myhusband Bernie & I have watched him over the years and feel so blessed that he has remained centered and humble yet is caring and holds real and true values. He is a person of great stature.
I was born in 1934 and have watched Anaheim change, but Tiger Woods and his family are Angel's to our community. God Bless him and his family.
The Gottliebs Bernie and Jo An Gottlieb