By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics

Outside Kaplan Arena Tuesday night, it was cold and damp. But inside, especially in the Person Room, there was plenty of warmth at the Student Athlete Advisory Committee Chat session, which came at a special time during Black History Month.

Basketball player Colin Ndaw and gymnast Trenton Peazant shared their experiences, both before and during their time as student athletes, with about 40 of their peers. Ndaw discussed four role models who inspired him to connect African youths with opportunity. Peazant spoke of Black history and how lucky he is to be alive.

"It was an amazing opportunity for other student-athletes to learn about their peers in a way they might not have expected," said Jasmine Perkins, assistant athletic director for student-athlete development and SAAC advisor.

"Overall, those student-athletes are an example of what Tribe athletes are. We recruit people who are passionate about social impact and sharing their stories to encourage other student-athletes to take advantage of their time here."

Each had an important message.

Colin Ndaw was born in Senegal but also has lived in Sudan, Mozambique and Italy. Skilled both athletically and academically, he also had what many lacked — opportunity. Even at a young age, he made it his mission to help others achieve that.

At 17, he created the Ndaw Foundation, a non-profit that connects sports and education to African youths. He drew inspiration from four people in his life.

"Dieynaba Ndaw, my sister, earned a scholarship at 13 to move to the United States and play soccer at one of the world's best boarding schools, IMG Academy," he said. "In my culture, you don't often see a woman play sports at a high level. This showed me it's possible to break barriers that have been put in place by society.

"Hans Ndaw is my older brother, and every court or field he stepped on, he built a connection with someone that was so special. Those bonds I saw him build growing up made me realize it's much bigger than sports.

"Yoro Sidibe played (basketball) at Norfolk State and just graduated with his MBA at TCU. He created a camp and a non-profit called Africa NextGen, which I attended my 10th grade year. Through this camp, I was recruited to play for the Senegal U18 National Team. The way he has impacted children across Senegal really inspired me.

"Alassane Ndaw, my grandfather, helped establish the first public university in Senegal and pave the way for higher education across the continent of Africa. He was a philosopher who advocated equal rights and that Black people across the world and Senegal could achieve such a high education and be successful and seen as equals."

Colin sees knowledge as the ultimate bridge.

"Yeah, we love playing basketball and we love playing soccer," he said. "But education is the most powerful tool for the youth to change the world."

Trenton Peazant addressed several topics, but the most riveting was what happened to him four months before coming to William & Mary. He was in the passenger seat of a friend's car when …

"All I remember is we started to lose control and hit the median," he said. "About five hours later, I woke up in the hospital with a really bad concussion and a contusion in the back of my head. That left me with 23 staples in the back of my head for a few weeks.

"One of the only memories I have from that night is holding my dad's hand as they continued to staple my head. That's left me with a little plus-mark scar, leaving me to grow my hair out. But if you were to see the car, you'd say I got very lucky."

Even after he recovered, his ordeal wasn't over.

"I kind of forgot how to do gymnastics because of my concussion," he said. "I had about four months to get myself right."

Peazant discussed being a member of Omega Psi Phi Inc., just like his father, uncle and other men in his family. His birthday, Nov. 17, is also the anniversary of the fraternity's founding on the campus of Howard University. 

He also talked about Black History Month and why it's recognized in February.

"I used to wonder why it was the shortest month of the year," he said. "(Historian) Carter G. Woodson, also a member of Omega Psi Phi Inc., started a Negro Achievement Week. He made sure it fell on the 12th and 14th of February, which are Abraham Lincoln's and Frederick Douglass' birthdays. 

"That was started in the '20s, and finally in 1976, President Gerald Ford made it the full month. It's my favorite month of the year because it highlights accomplishments of Black Americans who typically are either footnotes or small pages of a textbook — or not even in the textbook at all."