John Newson has a lot to be proud of in his life.
A former standout athlete at Norwich Free Academy who held four state track records and won a full scholarship to play football at the University of Rhode Island, Newson said his youth was full of big dreams.
But despite 2 ½-hour weight-lifting sessions and making tough adjustments on the field, Newson, now a Connecticut Superior Court judge, made sure his focus never wavered in the classroom, he said on Saturday.
“My athletic background is worth about this much right now,” Newson, making a zero with his hand, told about 40 students during orientation for the 21st annual Historically Black College Alumni of New London bus tour, which runs April 15-19.
The $285-per-person tour is designed to give students of all backgrounds a chance to experience campus life at higher education institutions they may not be familiar with already.
Participants will visit six schools in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Several teens are taking the bus tour for a second time, like Norwich resident Khaadijah Reed, a senior at the New London magnet school.
“Over those few days, you create this bond with people you never think you would have talked to before,” she said. “When you get to these schools, it’s business time. This is the first step to your college career.”
