An Introduction of Our Newest Intern, Gordon Bylsma

Hello America Scores LA Family,

My name is Gordon Bylsma, I am currently 19 years old and I attend Syracuse University in New York. I recently joined the America Scores LA team and cannot be more excited to start working this summer! Having grown up in Los Angeles, soccer has always been a large part of my life. Simply put, I love the game. I played on my varsity team in high school, my colleges’ club soccer team last year, and I am currently a manager for our Division-1, ACC varsity squad. Aside from my passion for soccer, I have always looked for ways to get involved and improve my local community. For the past four years I have been heavily involved in another local program called Camp Harmony, which recommended that I check out this great organization named America Scores LA. After researching America Scores LA and its mission, I knew this was the perfect place to blend my passions together. I am looking forward to a great summer and getting a chance to meet all of you!

Best,

Gordon

Differences Too Small To Overcome

Question: What is the difference between poetry and music? I awoke this morning with a smile on my face, which, thankfully, is not a rare occasion. What made this smile special was my knowing exactly what I was smiling about. Last night, listening to many of our student athletes recite original poems on stage at Braddock Drive Elementary School provided me not only with smiles, but with all those things behind the smile: joy, love, and laughter. For the past few weeks, the students have been working on creative pieces focused on the theme: The Music in Me. This led to one student sharing just how Hype rap makes him, another claiming herself to be a goddess of music, and one outstanding performance that ended with an A Capella version of Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" which received uproarious applause. There is one student from Palms Elementary School, Prince, whose poem represents the best of this program:

The Music in Me

I am the star that music makes me
I wonder what its like to see music like me
I see the ears in my head, spinning the swarms of ideas
I see like no other being, so I am the Alpha
I want more to see in what I can read, read in me
I am the Alpha of music everywhere, and no one can say otherwise