The J Noah Skills Academy takes a unique approach to mentorship, providing our student athletes with a fun way to learn practical project management skills that are highly desired by employers. Exposing students to the principles of project management provides them with knowledge, self-awareness, and self-assessment to enable them to start and finish projects in all aspects of their lives. Possessing post-college level skills before they even graduate high school increases a J Noah student’s likelihood of both personal and professional success.

The curriculum is based on frameworks provided by the Project Management Institute. Each student enrolled at the J Noah Skills Academy works with their mentor to create a personalized Mentee Action Plan. The student uses project management skills to identify and achieve academic, athletic, and personal goals, and the action plan establishes processes for requesting any help and resources they need. The project management concepts are taught through the lens of basketball to help our student athletes better relate to and understand the material. J Noah Skills Academy students learn how to incorporate these fundamentals to help them achieve athletic and academic success. Some examples include:

• Identifying Stakeholders – Students identify the people in their lives who have a stake in their success, how are they related, and how important their involvement is in reaching their goals.

• Goal Setting – Students identify their academic, athletic, personal, and professional goals.

• The Five Project Management Processes – Students learn how to apply the five phases of the project management process (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Controlling, Closing) to achieve their goals.

• Risk Management – Students learn how to identify risks, and how to navigate them as they arise.

• Time Management – Students learn to set tasks and time frames within which to complete those tasks.