BSBH Student Spotlight: Marcel Awori (Sargent ’24)

My name is Marcel Awori, and I am a rising senior in Sargent College studying Behavior and Health with a Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I currently work in the Sargent MSC as  a media technician.  

Originally from Kenya, I moved away from my family in 2018 to attend Northfield Mount Hermon boarding school in Western Mass before committing to play soccer at Boston University. After deciding to step away from competitive soccer, I now run my own non-profit  organization based in Kenya. I created B.U.I.L.D Sports Africa to support youth grassroot programs around the African continent with the goal to utilize sports as a catalyst to support the leaders of tomorrow and strengthen youth career development. B.U.I.L.D stands for Basics, Utilization, Identity, Longevity and Diversification; this is an acronym given to me by Alex  McKechnie, one of the executives for the Toronto Raptors, as the key principle for BUILDing a successful career. As an organization, we focus on supporting sports programs that are running  successfully and have a keen interest in maximizing educational opportunities through sports.  With this, we currently support one program, FAM Kenya, by eliminating economic barriers such as league registration fees, gameday transport, visa fees, and more. In our first year,  B.U.I.L.D has successfully helped send 3 children on full academic scholarships to U.S. high  schools as well as sponsor and integrate technological sports solutions in Kenyan leagues.  

Moving forward, I’m excited to move into my senior year at Boston University and continue working on B.U.I.L.D while in Boston. My hope is to expand our work around Africa by collaborating with even more grassroot programs, launching our website, and continuing to raise  money. This really only feels like the beginning!  

To learn more about BUILD, stay up to date, and consider donating to everything we do please  feel free to look at our Instagram @buildsportsafrica.  

Preferred Name: Marcel  

Pronouns: He/Him/His