Editor's Note: The follow feature appears on page 28 of the Fall 2010 issue of Gothic: the magazine of New Jersey City University.
As a sharp-shooting, standout point guard for the New Jersey City University men's basketball team during the most successful stretch in school history, Jeffrey Jordan, `91 knew a lot about handing out assists on the court. It proved to be the perfect metaphor for his future, because as an alumni Mr. Jordan has made delivering real-life assists his mission.
Today, Mr. Jordan continues to contribute to student-athletes at his alma mater through The GoodWorx Foundation, which he founded in 2003 with the goal of providing assistance to today's young people as they navigate through their youth. Overall, the goal of the program at NJCU is to maximize student-athlete retention while encouraging the attaining of their college degree.
Mr. Jordan received similar assistance when, as a business major at then Jersey City State College from 1987-91, he played for legendary coach Charlie Brown, eventually serving as team captain as a senior.
“He taught me how to live responsibly with class and with the ultimate coolness—three things I try to practice in my life on a daily basis now,” said Mr. Jordan. “Coach Brown was and still is a mentor.”
NJCU, which has participated in the NCAA/CHAMPS Life Skills Program since February 2005, first partnered with The GoodWorx Foundation in 2007 to provide mentoring and life-skills training on an individual and group basis, primarily for those student-athletes who could benefit from academic enhancement.
The GoodWorx Foundation tailors an Individual Student Success Plan (ISSP) to each participant with the objective of building vision, setting goals, establishing plans and achieving success.
Mr. Jordan moved to New York City from Indiana at the age of six and admits growing up in a single-parent household in the 1980s had its challenges. Mentors, like Coach Brown, played an important role in his adolescent life.
“Every day you would see examples on the streets of how not to live. To have Coach Brown and my mother—the ultimate mentor and life coach—in my life, was like a beacon to follow.”
Mr. Jordan came to the University after a year at St. John's University, and graduated as NJCU's all-time leader in career three-pointers with 125 [since surpassed]. He scored 934 points while distributing 293 assists as an integral part of a program that registered a staggering 89-23 record and had a .794 winning percentage in 112 games. Jordan's team's were an astounding 60-12 in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), including consecutive seasons of 17-1 league records (1989, 1990), while posting overall records of 24-4 and 25-3, respectively. Meanwhile, NJCU turned in a 47-8 home record during this memorable period. As a testament to his patience and concentration, Mr. Jordan remains NJCU's all-time leader in free-throw percentage at 80.5 percent, making 161 of 200 attempts.
A 1991 Second-Team All-NJAC and Third-Team All-Met Division II/III selection, Mr. Jordan's career was sandwiched around NJCU's two Final Four teams (1985-86 and 1991-92 teams), but still was the second winningest four-year period in program history.
Mr. Jordan enjoyed perhaps the greatest games of his collegiate career on December 29 and 30, 1988, sinking a 25-footer at the buzzer to knock off host Bryant College before helping the Knights to stun defending NCAA Division II national champion University of Lowell the following day.
But despite a combined 49-7 record, the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons were bittersweet for Mr. Jordan and Coach Brown, who both felt NJCU, among the top ranked teams in the nation each season, should have played for national championships, but failed to reach that destination after being upset each year in the NCAA Tournament.
Fast-forward more than 15 years and Mr. Jordan, now a parent himself, cast the vision for The GoodWorx Foundation from his desire to create an organization that would provide the mentorship that was often absent during his own youth.
“It was important that I shared some of the experiences and pitfalls that I learned from that could benefit today's young people. When I was thinking specifically of what programs we wanted to establish, mentoring was the key.”
For more than a year, Mr. Jordan researched the best practices of successful mentoring organizations nationwide. Then a resident of Sayreville, N.J., both of his children attended public school and were enrolled in after school programs. That is where his vision first took root, incorporating the mentoring philosophy into the Sayreville Middle School. The success of the initial program led to a partnership with the Sayreville Board of Education and the creation of a comprehensive after school program that included academic support, mentoring and a life skills component—including leadership and team building, while also allowing for recreation. The GoodWorx Foundation provided tutoring in small groups and strong communication with both parents and teachers.
With the success of the program in Sayreville, Mr. Jordan explored how The GoodWorx Foundation could support the NCAA/CHAMPS Life Skills Program at NJCU and in 2007 his proposal received a warm reception from the NJCU administration.
“I began talking with Coach Brown about my experiences as a student-athlete and we identified the resources and practical life skills that would benefit the current athletes.”
While the philosophy of The GoodWorx Foundation at the middle school and collegiate levels remains grounded in the fundamental ideals of mentoring and life skills, the content is delivered to the NJCU students on an age-specific level.
“At the University level, my No. 1 goal is simply to raise awareness of what [knowledge] is available to them,” noted Mr. Jordan. “We always start the year with our most important seminar—time management. How do they manage the time they have in the new environment they're in? We customize all of the content presented during our seminars to the student-athlete, and depending on the grade level [upperclassmen vs. lowerclassmen], we'll cater the content to the audience.”
Some of the sessions conducted by The GoodWorx Foundation include panels on study skills, introduction to personal finance and nutrition. As students near completion of their degrees, workshops will include material to prepare for life after college: career development skills, career exploration, resume writing and job interviewing.
“I want these kids to have more skills and more tools in the toolbox,” Mr. Jordan continued. “You need to develop skills to look at issues form different aspects and then utilize those skills in life.”
One of the true indications of the impact of The GoodWorx Foundation is those athletes who remain involved in the program until they graduate, despite not being required to attend. Former women's bowling standouts Vicki Spratford, `08 and Amieé deNeuf, `08, took their involvement one step further—interning at the foundation before eventually working part time as mentors.
Another example of a student-athlete who reaped the benefits of the program is current men's basketball assistant coach Alex Mirabel, `09, who played for the Gothic Knights from 2003-07. Coach Mirabel, the first student at the University to utilize the foundation's programming, has continued his relationship for three years since completing his playing career and today works as a full-time mentor in the Sayreville Middle School after school program.
"It prepared me for the real world after college,” Mr. Mirabel described. “I already knew what to expect, what to do and what not to do before I graduated. We talked about time management after college, building time around work and how to prioritize things that are not important. The finance seminars taught us how to build credit and get credit cards, about paying your credit cards and college loans on time, and the impact on your credit and your life if you don't pay on time.”
Mr. Mirabel added: “The experience I had is why I continue to give back as a mentor. It's from the heart. When I was younger there were people who helped me and it's my turn to 'pay it forward'. Kids need good role models because there are not a lot of good role models out there.”
Mr. Jordan operates his non-profit foundation with support of federal, state and local grants as well as private contributions from community organizations and private companies.
Summarizing the future of the foundation, Mr. Jordan said: “I think NJCU has a lot of opportunity for mentoring programs that can benefit children and young adults. This collaboration between The GoodWorx Foundation and NJCU will ultimately lead to additional programming in the community and the campus that will help a lot of people.”
