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ATHENS, Ohio — Graduate student Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) has seen the world through the lens of a basketball player since he was a toddler. He understands how vital the sport can be to a community. 

Basketball is a norm in the Mitchell family, almost everyone has played it or still does. Mitchell's first memories of basketball are playing in the streets with his dad and cousins. He was maybe four years old at the time and didn't have quite the shot he does now. 

As the game went on, Mitchell noticed his family didn't pass him the ball on a few possessions. He grew furious - and in true kid fashion - he took the ball and chucked it down the road before he stormed off back to the house. Mitchell wasn't just upset that they didn't include him; he was upset because they were denying him the joy of participating.

That was when Mitchell's family realized how passionate he could be. 

"That's one of the memories that I talk to my family about a lot because they were like, they knew like, I was a competitor. They knew I had that fire, that kind of instinct," Mitchell said. "I look at myself now and I could definitely see myself doing that," he said   

Since then, Mitchell has grown to be passionate about many things, such as his family. They're everything to Mitchell. They'd given him his love for basketball, introduced him to his faith — which he credits as a main source of inspiration, and taught him the importance of serving your community. 



Community is another passion of Mitchell's and has been for a long time. For most of his life, Mitchell's community was Northeast Omaha, Nebraska, an area that Mitchell self-described as rough. He realized over the past few years that he'd like to steer his career path toward aiding individuals such as the residents in Northeast Omaha.

Mitchell knew that he and his peers weren't always afforded the same opportunities in life. He had multiple outlets, but others only had basketball. They couldn't go home and relax with a round of Call of Duty or an episode or two of Spongebob Squarepants like he could. That led him to study social work while attending Creighton. 

"My mom was actually a social worker. She's a counselor. She works with a bunch of kids back in Omaha who have issues within school or their families. She really inspired me to do that," Mitchell said. "My faith with God, too, I felt like it was something that was kind of like a calling for me, especially growing up in north Omaha, if you kind of know how it is, it can be rough or so just want to give back to that community. I feel like they've done a lot for me and so I just want to get back to them making sure the next generation of kids can have the resources and the same opportunity as other kids across the world to be something."

Mitchell earned his degree in 2023 and spent the summer with a nonprofit that dealt with various social work cases. He connected individuals with food assistance, laundry services and more, which inspired him to pursue the nonprofit sector himself.

When he transferred to Ohio, Mitchell enrolled in the graduate certificate program for business management with the intent of starting his own nonprofit organization. He'd like to blend sport and service in the future. 

"With nonprofits comes a lot of families, families have children. If children can have some type of escape from their reality, it can be hard, but I know basketball is something that can be and it has been a lot of kids from North Omaha," he said. "If I could tie that in, and bring joy through the big game of basketball, to try to have kids not always focus on the bad or the tough and kind of get them away from that, that would definitely be a goal."

One of the main reasons Mitchell loves basketball is the relationships formed through the sport and how they grow over time. He noted that although he's only been with Ohio for a few months, he's been able to get close with the team and the staff. They treat each other and would fight for each other like a family. Mitchell wants to help others find that kind of bond.

Not everything is about basketball with Mitchell, but he understands how basketball can lead to different ventures. He sees basketball as an avenue to better himself and others around him. The sport has been an important part of his life and he wants to share the love of basketball with generations to come. 

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