Last week, I attended a reception for Richmond Promise Cal graduates in the Athletic Director’s Suite following UC Berkeley's recent commencement ceremony at Cal Memorial Stadium. What an impressive group representing Richmond. Almost all seemed to be heading for graduate school in fields such as law, medicine, molecular biology and other disciplines.

Richmond native, Kennedy HS grad and Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall left students with the message "The ball is in your hands" when it comes to the game of life that they now enter post-graduation. Shortly after her speech, a group of Richmond Promise Scholars got the wonderful opportunity to hear that message up close and personal as RP, together with UCB, Cal Athletics (Cal Bears) and the Cameron Institute.

Scholars got a chance to chat with Cynt, receive signed copies of her book "You've Been Chosen", and spend some time with a proud Richmond native who has forged a long and impactful career, first at AT&T and now as the NBA's first Black female CEO.

Richmond's reach extends far and wide, and as Cynt told our RP Scholars on Saturday, the game is only just beginning. The ball is in their hands.

Figure 3 - Richmond Promise Cal graduates