THE STARTING BLOCK
A Fielkow-Chase Youth Education Initiative
CONGRATS TO COHORT 3
We're delighted to announce that the following students have been admitted to Cohort 3 of The Starting Block:
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Alyssa Travers | Arius Miranda | Averianna Gonzales | Barbara Hogan | Blake Wright | Braeden Hunter | Caige Meilleur | Carter Duplessis | Cash James | Christian LaCoste | Cruize Jackson | Curtis Hawthorne | Dontrell Williams | Dylan James | Elijah Thibodeaux | Emilse Archer Fernandez | Evan Morgan | Ezekiel Robinson | Gabrielle Blackburn | Grant Hayes | Herbert Warren, V | Jaeden Perrier | Jaren Marshall, Jr. | Jayla Allen
John Carter, Jr. | Jonah Petrone | Kevonte Forbes | Kezia Simeon | Kingston Brown | Kobe Sterling | Konnor Dale | Kylie Buford | Logan Clivens | Makhi Doucet | Mark Rhodes, Jr. | Misha Pochkun | Molly Dunn | Nia Zanders
Nick Gardner | Olive Terk | Paul Desdunes | Roshad Willis | Ryan Rice | Ryha Williams | Shane Jackson | Terrill Green, Jr. | Tess Petrone | Tristen Rogers | Troy Gant, Jr.
Tru Olexia-Daigle | Xhai Smith
CONGRATS TO OUR SECOND COHORT
The Starting Block is delighted to announce our second cohort of students, who graduated from the program on May 29, 2025.
Nicholas Alvarez | Oscar Brock | Corey Brooks, Jr.
Jabari Brown, Jr. | Kaden Clausell | Noah Dunn
Mekhi Emilien | Ferdinand Gettridge | John Gross
Henry Haber | Kelin Harris | Cardell Henderson
Curiij Jackson | Omari Johnson | Dwayne Johnson, Jr.
Corey Kennedy | Rion Lawrence | Rylie Lawrence
William Luther | Thaddaeus Prosper | Jayden Rubin
Amir Thomas | Jaden Veal | Callie Watson
Willie Watson | Kaleb Williams | Kyron Young
ABOUT
The Starting Block: A Fielkow-Chase Youth Education Initiative is a sports career development program for high school students designed to build impactful relationships between multicultural and multifaith communities in Greater New Orleans through the lens of practical learning and sports industry insights.
This innovative program was jointly created by the Arnie D. Fielkow Family and the Edgar "Dooky" Jr. & Leah Chase Family Foundation. Those in New Orleans know these names well - this initiative combines the primary passions of Arnie Fielkow's nearly 30-year professional career: sports, Judaism, and fostering relationships among diverse communities. The iconic Leah Chase devoted her entire life to social justice and change, and education, and utilized her unprecedented culinary talents to bring diverse New Orleanians together.
THE STARTING BLOCK
A starting block is used by athletes to brace their feet at the start of a race, enabling them to launch with more power and speed.
In May 2023, the Starting Block graduated its first cohort of more than 40 high school students reflecting the New Orleans African-American, Latino, and Jewish communities. Each cohort completes an 18-month education cycle learning the ins and outs of the sports industry, with the goal of preparing them for a professional career in the field after college. But The Starting Block is not just another traditional school course. Instead, sessions are built around presentations and interactive activities that illustrate how the sports industry works and bring it to life. Students learn from sports industry experts on a wide variety of disciplines, including major league teams, media, marketing, and sports in society.
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The program curriculum also highlights the impact of sports off-the-field. The role of sports in building community, creating identity, and bringing people together from across diverse backgrounds is a key part of the program. And the experience is not limited to the classroom; students also gain hands-on field experience through site visits to sports-related organizations throughout the Greater New Orleans area.
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​In-person classes are held every two months, from October through May, held at Tulane University’s uptown campus and other local venues. Site visits with local sports-related organizations are arranged based on partner and student availability.
"When integration came, people said, Leah, you should move, black people can go anywhere now, they won’t come to you. I said, you can’t run away from yourself, you are who you are, so you stay where you are and make it work for you. And that’s exactly what I did. I stayed right here. All I wanted was a community where people would come, and I have that. I’m still trying to make it a first-class restaurant in this community. That’s all I ever wanted. I was on that road, and here comes Katrina, bam, and I had to start over again. I’m never going to give up. I’m going to stay on this battlefield till I die."
- Chef Leah Chase
The Tulane University Center for Sport serves as The Starting Block's lead educational partner. The Center is led by its co-Director, Professor Gabe Feldman, a nationally renowned expert in sports law who also serves as Director of the Tulane Sports Law Program and who, along with the Center’s Sports Law Program Manager, Eric Blevins, also serve as instructors in The Starting Block program. Together with the Center’s Director of Education, Tess Belt, the Tulane team coordinates the 18-month Starting Block course program including class topics, scheduling, and assisting with recruitment of guest instructors and other local partners. Other local religious, community, and cultural organizations assist Tulane with important historical and culturally-significant aspects of the program; past partners include St. Augustine High School, Touro Synagogue, and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
This initiative is made possible through the generosity of the Chase Family, the Fielkow Family, and the Melinda and Morris Mintz Family. Additional partners include the Major League Baseball New Orleans Youth Academy and Each One Save One.
"I have been blessed to have enjoyed an almost 30-year career in the sports industry which allowed me to fulfill a life's dream. Through The Starting Block, it is my hope to give other New Orleans area youth the same opportunity and the foundation to live out their own professional dreams. Even more importantly, given the current state of society, it is vital that communities-especially the African-American, Latino and Jewish communities-unite to better understand each other's history and traditions, and to stand together to combat bigotry, hate and discrimination. Hopefully The Starting Block will bring New Orleans area youth together to accomplish just that!"
