In hopes of inspiring fellow students, Black Student Union (BSU) President and senior Sidney Cherry invited her relatives to speak about their experience working in sports and fashion on Jan. 26 during lunch. Sidney Cherry’s father and Adidas Senior Vice President and General Manager Daniel Cherry and her aunt and Chicago Bulls Vice President of Community Engagement Adrienne Scherenzel shared the most important lessons they’ve learned so far in their professional and personal endeavors.
“Because we promoted them coming quite a bit in the morning announcements and on Instagram, a lot of people came,” Sidney Cherry said. “[My dad] has a lot of good points and a lot of value that he can give kids. A lot of kids came up afterward and told us that it was really great.”
When planning the event, the BSU had to find a date that both speakers were available and lined up with their club meeting. When their dates aligned, Sidney Cherry was responsible for contacting Principal Bridi and approving the speakers to come on campus. While it does take organization, Sidney Cherry hopes the presentation had an impact on the audience.”
“I hope that people were inspired,” Sidney Cherry said. “I think it’s pretty easy to get caught up in just one career path, but they’ve done multiple things in their life and there are multiple ways to get to one destination. I hope that the kids were able to understand how the business that they’re in works and that it’s definitely possible for them to do similar things if they wanted to.”
Club advisor and APES teacher Gillian Moberg shared an appreciation of the speakers and their presentation.
“I thought they were great. We’ve only had a couple of speakers [this year] and I think they’ve been well-chosen. Everybody had something to bring,” Moberg said. “I liked the fact that they were attempting not only to demonstrate their own work ethic and their own trials, but [that] they’re a different generation. They made an attempt to make their lived experiences applicable to the way that the younger generation can succeed.”
A major point emphasized throughout their presentations was that they both set out with plans to do very different things. Before their current jobs, Daniel Cherry had ambitions of becoming a professional basketball player and Scherenzel went to medical school. However, neither said they regret the steps they took in the wrong direction, as their decisions brought them closer to the success they have now.
“Hopefully the biggest takeaway that people remember is that everything that you do is building blocks to build into what you’re going to be in the future. There are lessons to be learned from the things that you don’t like to do as well,” Scherenzel said.
Another main element of the presentation was highlighted through Daniel Cherry’s usage of his personal mantra ‘outwork everyone always’ (O.E.A.) repeatedly throughout his presentation, which stressed the importance of putting in as much effort as you can. Daniel Cherry and Scherenzel also advised making the most out of every opportunity that comes your way, even if it may not appear to lead directly to your end goals. This particularly struck a chord with the BSU Corresponding Secretary senior Malia Wilken, who was one of the audience members.
“I thought that the way [Scherenzel] got into working for the NBA was very inspiring, because she took the different opportunities that came to her, and they led her to somewhere great. I think that’s a thing I’ll be incorporating into my life,” Wilken said. “A lot of times, I try to wait until there’s the right opportunity, but [I learned that] you never know if it is the right opportunity. You should just take whatever chances you get and use that to excel further in life.
Apart from familial ties to the BSU, the speakers had other reasons for wanting to help high school students by sharing their experiences. Specifically, Sherenzel wished to give guidance to kids interested in a sports career like hers.
“Sometimes it seems like there’s a bit of a cloud of mystery around how someone can get into working in sports. I usually try to take any opportunity I can to discuss the work that I do and how I got into the work that I’m doing right now,” Scherenzel said.
Additionally, Daniel Cherry was glad to have the opportunity to speak to students because he feels connected to the younger generations, as his work for Adidas is heavily influenced by them.
“Speaking to high schoolers means the world to me because I believe that this generation is the generation that is going to improve the world around us and push us forward toward even better progress,” Daniel Cherry said. “My job is to do what I can to inspire [them], share my knowledge with [them] and hopefully be a support mechanism as [they] navigate the future. If you have knowledge, I think it’s really important that you pass it on. I get so invigorated and inspired by young people. I work in an industry that is driven by young people’s trends, so I want to be around young students, talking about and experiencing what’s next.”
