SPUT Youth Council: Vilai Her

What is your favorite memory with Saint Paul Urban Tennis?

One of my favorite memories with Saint Paul Urban Tennis is going to the Warrior Leadership Academy and bonding with friends on the bus rides. The bus is a place where we can be ourselves, have fun, and build long-lasting relationships.

How has Saint Paul Urban Tennis developed you as a leader?

Saint Paul Urban Tennis has developed me as a leader by giving me opportunities such as being in the High Performance (HP) program during the winter season.

HP allows me to develop my coaching skills with the Warrior Leadership Academy and gives me the opportunity to be on the Youth Council. Another way SPUT has developed me as a leader is by having me become one of their coaches during the summer. I think that is a great way to help kids like me develop into leaders.

What skills have you improved as a Youth Council member?

As a Youth Council member, we try our best to improve Saint Paul Urban Tennis programming.

We work with each other and learn to listen and keep an open-mind. The skills that I have improved as a Youth Council member are my listening skills and my ability to give detailed feedback.

If you had to eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

If I had to eat one thing for the rest of my life, I would choose sushi! There are so many different varieties of sushi. It includes all kinds of food, sauce, and flavors from around the world, which I really like. If I was to get tired of eating a specific kind of sushi, I could change to another!

How do you motivate yourself? How do you motivate others?

I motivate myself by constantly giving myself reminders of how hard I’ve worked, and why I started in the first place. I set new goals to work towards, and do everything I can to achieve them. I motivate others by leading by example. If I work hard as a leader, others will see and want to do the same. I have also been told that I motivate others by doing things genuinely out of love and from my heart, not necessarily because I want the “leader” or “captain” title.

What will you miss most about Saint Paul Urban Tennis?

What I will miss most about Saint Paul Urban Tennis is the Warrior Leadership Academy during the winter, because it is such a blast.

Winter is when it’s usually off season, so court time is really precious to a lot of us minorities. Everyone takes advantage of the court time and makes the best out of it, which I think is really amazing since not every community has that. I’m really happy that SPUT gives kids that opportunity.