Zylan is no stranger to Sun Devil fans as he was a standout student-athlete competing for the Sun Devil Men’s Basketball program for the 2018-2019 season. Following his collegiate career he took his talents to the NBA. With his career taking him away from Tempe, his heart still remains in Arizona with his support for the community through Sun Devil Athletics and the Sun Devil Club. We caught up with Zylan and asked him a few questions about why he chose to support Sun Devil Athletics:
Why is it important for you to give back to the community? It is important for me to give back to the community because I want to ensure youth avoid barriers I came across. I want to work with local schools and youth to make sure they have the tools needed to navigate school so they can attend college.
Why is it important to give back to the community through ASU? It is important to give back to the community through ASU because it is the closest institution of higher education to the South Phoenix community that I’m passionate about. As a college graduate, I believe everyone should experience the highest level of learning and I believe ASU exhibits that. With that, I am also an Alumni of ASU and am able to directly share my positive experiences from the university and share that with those from my community who aspire to be more.
What does it mean to you to be a Sun Devil and be a part of the Sun Devil Family? How does it help connect you with your community? Being a Sun Devil is nothing short of a blessing. As a student athlete, I was able to build a pretty strong network of successful Alumni who are passionate about their careers and being a part of the Sun Devil community. Having the opportunity to meet these amazing people have shown me that with hard work, commitment and dedication, anything is possible.
Why do you think it is important to use ASU and Sun Devil Athletics as a platform to make our community better? We decided to use ASU and Sun Devil Athletics as a platform to make our community better because it allows us the opportunity to connect the ASU/Sun Devil Athletics network to the South Phoenix Community. Being a former Sun Devil student-athlete, there was a big emphasis on always finding ways to give back to the community and this is something that has stuck with me.
What motivated you to get involved philanthropically? My motivation for getting involved philanthropically is my own experiences of growing up in South Phoenix. I've always had a goal in mind and imagined making a difference in my community and giving youth from my community hope.
What is your vision for your philanthropy? My vision for my philanthropy efforts, is to make sure the youth in our community, with emphasis on South Phoenix where I grew up, have the necessary resources in order to succeed. It is also my vision to really impact the youth by providing mentorship, life lessons and opportunities they could have never imagined on their pathway to high school and college degrees. I want to let the underprivileged youth of the Greater Phoenix Metro Area know that they are not alone and it is possible to obtain any dream that you may have without becoming a product of your environment.
The Sun Devil Club would like to thank Zylan for his continued support of Sun Devil Athletics. For more information on ways to get involved with the Sun Devil Club, please contact us.