Youth and Leaders Living Actively (YALLA) founder Mark Kabban is scheduled as the keynote speaker for the Baker University 2013 undergraduate commencement ceremony, but the trip from San Diego will be somewhat of a homecoming for him. Kabban is a 2008 BU graduate and former Baker football player.
“I feel like Baker did a lot for me and anytime I can come back and do something for the university it’s great,” he said.
Kabban was chosen as a speaker for commencement because of his non-profit work in San Diego. YALLA, the non-profit organization he founded, is a program in California that uses soccer as a way to motivate refugee children who immigrated to the United States to do well in school. YALLA was inspired after he worked as a refugee case manager. He saw a large number of resettling refugees and how children were very isolated.
“I couldn’t believe how many child survivors of war were coming, and it really broke my heart because they were really set up for failure,” Kabban said.
He realized most of these students couldn’t speak English and their parents couldn’t either. The children didn’t have the support or motivation at home to learn and do well in school, which is where YALLA comes in.
The children must participate in YALLA’s academic program, which includes tutoring and other academic components like learning life skills, relational skills and higher education preparation, in order to earn the soccer scholarship and play for free.
“Mark’s work with YALLA has been an inspiration for the entire university community, and when we select our commencement speaker we always look for a person who can relate to and motivate our students,” University President Pat Long said.
YALLA’s programs are unique to California, and Kabban’s passion and drive earned him the honor of being named a 2012 CNN Hero last spring.
But Kabban’s speech won’t talk about finding success after graduation – it will talk about not finding success and the pressure and anxiety to be successful as soon as college ends.
“I’m going to have a real honest speech about my bumps in the road,” Kabban said. “I just want to be real candid and real honest about my challenges in the workplace and before I started YALLA.”
After graduating from Baker and prior to starting YALLA, Kabban had struggled to find a job and he wants students to know not to give up when things get challenging, but to look for support from those around them.
Sandy Tugman, former student academic services tutoring and academic adviser, is one of his main supporters. She was a mentor and friend to Kabban during his time at BU and has stayed in touch with him.
“He’s got a lot to share and I think it would be very good for the Baker students to hear it,” Tugman said.
