From athlete to advocate: English Grad gives newcomers a sporting chance

Coleman’s mom’s family is from India, and his dad is white, and Coleman was often one of the only players from an immigrant family on his sports teams in Calgary. “My immigrant friends and family members, they didn’t always get those experiences.”

So, as a junior in high school, he and his younger sister, Lucy, started FANS (Full Access for Newcomers to Sports) Foundation. It’s a registered nonprofit in Canada and the U.S. that partners with local businesses, professional sports teams, youth teams, summer camps and other groups to provide opportunities for newcomer immigrant youth to get involved in sports. In the past six years, FANS has welcomed more than 500 newcomers from around the world.

In the summer of 2021, FANS hosted a basketball event for a group of kids. Coleman and Lucy rented an outdoor court, invited a coach to lead a practice, and everyone got to take home a new basketball. Recently, FANS, in partnership with a youth camp, helped start a new program for Ukrainians displaced by the war. “These youth might have language barriers or other challenges with adjusting to a new life and culture, but you see it go away with sports. It’s something that’s truly special,” he said.

As a senior in high school, in spring 2019, Coleman traveled to India with his parents and sister for the first time. Over two weeks, they visited eight cities, where he met dozens of his relatives and saw where his grandmother grew up.

“Growing up, I had doubts about my connection to the Indian side of my heritage because I don’t have an Indian name, I don’t necessarily look Indian all the time, and I don’t speak Hindi or another Indian language. I feel very connected now. Everyone was so kind and caring. Some of them were 90 or 100 years old, and unfortunately, some of them have passed away since then. I’m so grateful to have had those experiences.”

During the trip to India, college decisions were coming out. One morning, Coleman woke up at 4 a.m. to check his email and found out that he got into Berkeley. “I was so excited,” he said.

An hour later, he and his family took a boat on the Ganges River to catch the sunrise. On the banks of the Ganges, surrounded by people bathing in the water, they performed a puja, or a prayer. At sunset, they returned to the river, where people were performing traditional rituals with candles, doing their laundry and bathing. There were even cremations happening on the river.

“It was absolutely wild because you go to the Taj Mahal, where you get a tourist experience. But on the same trip, you’re on the Ganges in the middle of everyone living their lives. It was a beautiful, chaotic experience that was so spiritual and surreal.”

At Berkeley, Coleman is a triple major in English, political science and legal studies, with a minor in journalism. Each major, he said, has helped him explore his varying interests and better understand the U.S. and California. An English class called The American Novel introduced him to a canon of great American writers, and last spring, he took a political science class in which he learned about war in the Middle East. “To learn about geopolitical tensions and international relations, and everything that goes on behind that, is incredible,” he said.

When he first got to campus, Coleman felt like he needed help acclimating to his new home and life. So, he enrolled in a DeCal class called Adulting that taught all sorts of skills — with the help of guest experts — including how to do laundry and cook dinner, and how to manage finances and find a work-life balance, a skill that he found especially useful while he pursued three degrees at the top public research university in the world.

“I don’t think I’ve ever pulled an all-nighter in my life,” he said. “I’m always making time to go for walks, watch sports and movies, to do those self-care activities. Maybe it’s less of a hard skill, but it’s as valuable as anything else that can be taught.” He went on to co-facilitate the class for the next three years, an experience he found rewarding.

Coleman was also a reporter for the Daily Cal, Berkeley’s student newspaper. When he joined in his first year on campus, he hadn’t done anything related to journalism before. But it seemed like the perfect opportunity to combine his love of sports and writing. He started covering basketball and football, and then, during his junior year, he became the sports editor. Four years later, he has published more than 100 stories, and he picked up a minor in journalism along the way.