GA_081519

28 | August 15, 2019 | The glencoe anchor sports
glencoeanchor.com
Alumni Spotlight
2
New Trier grad Cook makes drastic career change post-basketball
Drew Favakeh, Sports Intern
The way Steven Cook saw
things, playing basketball overseas
was an experience. After a
stellar season at Princeton, he’d
put in his time, see the world,
make some friends.
And he did that from 2017
to 2018, playing for BC Tartu
Ulikool in Estonia and New Heroes
Den Bosch in the Netherlands.
In Estonia, he averaged
11.1 points and 5.5 rebounds
and in the Netherlands, he averaged
11 points and 4.2 rebounds.
But when he suffered a mild
concussion in the seventh game
of his second season, he decided
the time was right to do what
he really wanted: volunteer
work.
At the core, it’s who he is —
giving, caring, empathetic. It’s
why he was named to the 2017
Allstate NABC Good Works
Team, one of 10 athletes to earn
such an honor.
To bridge his past to the future,
though, Cook needed help.
So he called Rachael Ferguson,
his former Princeton sociology
professor and Academic-Athletic
Fellow with the men’s basketball
team. Ferguson, who has
volunteered in Jordan and Bangladesh,
recommended Uganda
and the Nakivale Refugee Settlement
– home to 100,000 refugees
largely from eight different
countries, 80 percent of whom
are estimated to be under the
age of 35.
And in the Nakivale Settlement
was Opportunigee — the
world’s first self-organized empowerment
and social entrepreneurship
refugee hub, which
pushes people to get the skills
to become entrepreneurs rather
than giving out money and resources.
Cook’s original plan had been
to travel to Europe and Asia for
four months. But three months
in, he felt unfulfilled. He was in
Morocco when his parents and
two brothers visited him. There,
he broke them the news: he’d
be spending his last month in
Uganda.
His mother, Patricia Gorman-
Cook, took it hardest. First, her
maternal instincts kicked in:
Was it safe? Was it sanitary?
Once Steven alleviated those
concerns, she decided it’d be a
worthwhile experience.
“You worry about some
things, of course, but I was fully
supportive of him spending his
last month or so of his travels
giving back,” she said. “I was
actually proud of him that he
was going to give back some
time to help others less fortunate.
It’s something that was an
important aspect of him growing
up, that we did as a family.
When you’re blessed, you give
back. You make sure you help
others as well as continue to
educate yourself.”
When Cook arrived in Uganda,
he confronted a culture
shock. He wasn’t in Winnetka
— which, according to a 2010
New Trier alumnus Steven Cook (center right) slaps hands with one
of the students he taught basketball to. Photo submitted
census was 94.8 percent white
— anymore.
In the 100,000 person settlement,
Cook didn’t spot another
Caucasian.
Kids teased Cook. “Mizoongoo,
mizoongoo!”
What are you doing here?”
But Steven’s mother — who
volunteered with Cook at the
night ministry, the Chicago
Food Depository, and Faith
Hope and Charity Church —
saw it as an opportunity to develop
empathy.
“He was the only white person
he saw all the time he was
there. Kind of good to do that
sometimes, so that you have
empathy for others that are in
that position. I thought it was
super interesting that he was
able to experience what the
human spirit capable of when
faced with dire situations.”
The racial difference, as well
as the language barrier, made
the transition difficult.
In Estonia, English is the
second-most commonly spoken
language — half the population
speaks it. In the Netherlands,
English is the most common
language, at 89 percent.
“I got looks if I tried to speak
Dutch in the Netherlands,” said
Cook, who is only fluent in English.
The Nakivale settlement’s
population, on the other hand,
speaks seven different languages.
“Luckily,” Cook said, “while I
was there, I had a guy who spent
a lot of time with me who was a
former Congolese refugee.”
The refugee was what they
call “a fixer” — someone who
communicates, translates and
hang out with you.
When Cook arrived at Nakivale,
plans were already in
place to build its first basketball
court. He turned out to be the final
ingredient they needed.
Even as a recent retiree, Cook
still loves basketball.
He enjoys the demands of being
a leader, which he was as the
two-time captain of Princeton,
which made the NCAA tournament
in 2017 for the first time
since 2010-11. Less important
to him are the All-Ivy League
and Baltic player of the month
honors he earned.
In Nakivale, Cook served as
the ultimate team player. He
connected sports and community
in the lives of refugees previously
torn apart by war, conflict
and trauma.
As the lone former professional
basketball player in the
settlement, he trained 80 or so
kids. He also held film room
sessions, showing Africans in
the NBA: Congo’s Serge Ibaka;
Cameroon’s Pascal Siakam and
Joel Embiid; and South Sudan’s
Luol Deng.
“One of the biggest things is
that basketball is a great use of
your energy towards productive
things,” Cook said. “If you
can have them spend time on
the basketball court and learn
good character values and lead-
Please see spotlight, 27
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