For track and field standout Johnny Kemps, achieving peak athletic prowess goes hand in hand with personal growth off the oval.
“I saw that the most impressive athletes were also the most disciplined, introspective, and well-rounded,” says Kemps (Questrom’19). “I knew that if I took full advantage of the opportunity to develop myself, equip myself to lead, that my team itself could achieve all it wanted.”
Enter the Bloom Family Leadership initiative (BFLI).
Created in 2013 through a commitment by BU Trustee and former BU rugby player William Bloom (CGS’82, Questrom’84), the initiative aims to help student-athletes explore ways to turn challenges, on and off the field, into opportunities for personal improvement and leadership development.
With the help of a BFLI mentor, BU student-athletes work on professional skills, effective communication, leading others, and preparing for the transition to life after athletics.
Kemps harnessed his leadership training last year to launch a campus chapter of Athlete Ally, an organization that provides a support community for LGBTQ athletes and allies and educates people on LGBTQ issues.
“Bloom was one of the most important things I did during my undergraduate time,” Kemps says. “I am only just beginning to realize the impact that BFLI will have in life after BU. Life outside the glorious BU bubble isn’t always sunshine and roses, so it becomes that much more imperative to be well equipped to tackle life’s challenges head on, just as I did on the track at BU.”