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- Westlake High athletes created Make Great Plays, a nonprofit providing supplies, mentorship and awards to elementary students at Title I schools in the Conejo Valley.
- Founder Dhuruv Sankararaman plans to expand the initiative to Los Angeles County and rural India.
Young faces lit up with joy as award winners bounced to the podium. But it wasn’t only the elementary school recipients. The Westlake High students who created the ceremony were equally thrilled.
The teens are part of Make Great Plays, a grassroots organization that gives elementary school students a chance to dream, excel and believe they belong in educational echelons that once felt out of reach.
Dhuruv Sankararaman, a Westlake High junior and baseball player, launched Make Great Plays nearly four years ago, starting by collecting and donating sports equipment to the five Title 1 schools in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. (Title I public schools receive federal funding because they have a high percentage of students from low-income families.)
The mission quickly broadened. In the last year, Make Great Plays has conducted backpack and supply drives that outfitted more than 100 students and spent classroom time with students to increase computer literacy.
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Maple Elementary in Newbury Park was one of the first schools that Sankararaman and his team helped.
“We picked up 100 backpacks full of supplies,” he said. “They made a huge difference to hand them out to everyone in need.”
Next, they identified students who are especially helpful to the large autistic population at Maple and recognized them at an awards assembly. The Make Great Plays staff created five awards, one of each going to students in every grade: Inclusion Hero, Unity Champion, Global Ambassador, Hope Maker and Pathfinder.
“The kids are so excited to have high school students here to run the ceremony,” Maple principal Meghann O’Weger said. “Something feels different when the person giving the award is still a kid, but a bigger one. If adults came in and gave out the awards, it wouldn’t be the same as from peers.”
The 20 Make Great Plays members play soccer, baseball, lacrosse, tennis and volleyball at Westlake High. What began as a way to embellish college entrance applications has become a gratifying life experience for the teens as well as the elementary school students.
Sankararaman plans to expand Make Great Plays to schools in Los Angeles County and rural India, where his parents grew up.
“Some of the kids don’t have a stable home life and are behind in school,” Sankararaman said. “Spending time with them shifts their view a little bit. Many are incredibly smart. All the kids are very respectful. They listen to us as high schoolers and see us as role models.
“It’s cool to see faces light up when they realize how successful they can become, that they have the possibility of a great future.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
