USC stand-out quarterback Caleb Williams always has a mindset of giving back, especially to the Boys and Girls Club. During his final season with the Trojans, Williams partnered with Dr. Pepper to provide scholarships to high school seniors.
In his formative years, Williams was a member of his local Boys and Girls Club.
“I still like to think of myself as a Boys and Girls Club kid,” Williams said. “It taught me a lot of life lessons … there are lessons that I need now in my life.”
In order to win the scholarship, the two students competed in a game where they had to throw the most footballs into a large, inflatable Dr. Pepper can. Williams coached both students in the art of throwing both prior and during the game. Fellow Boys and Girls Club students cheered them on.
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Kamari B. won the game and received a $50,000 scholarship. Through his foundation Caleb Cares, he was able to surprise the runner-up with a $50,000 scholarship as well.
Kamari plays for the girl’s flag football team at her high school. She enjoyed the football-related aspect of the game and was happy to meet a collegiate athlete in person.
“I can really look forward to going to college,” Kamari said. “My biggest roadblock was having the money to be able to go and commit to college because I didn’t know how I was gonna get into it.”
Although she was not good at football, Julieta R. called the scholarship a blessing. She enjoyed the atmosphere of the competition.
“I love being given this opportunity,” Julieta said. “It made me realize that I’m not trapped here … there’s many things that will come, it’s based on you are where you’re supposed to be.”
The scholarship had nine applicants from the Watts area and Caleb Cares had determined who would be their top two students. BGCMLA vice president of resource development Kim Washington explained how the students put “their heart and soul” into “telling their stories.”
“This is his second year working with us, he adopted Challengers clubhouse as his club,” Washington said. “Him and his family fell in love with this clubhouse as well as our kids fell in love with [Williams].”
All the applicants were given either an iPad Pro or a laptop along with a Caleb Cares backpack. Last year, Williams visited the Challengers Boys and Girls Club to host an antibullying assembly.
