We are into our 5th week of Summer Programming and everyone is having a great time on the courts, despite the rain and air quality index alerts. Classes at our office have been jam packed with lots of educational activities.

We would like to introduce you to our instructors who are making it all happen for this summer's Tennis and Education Programs.

EJ Cabahug - Tennis Instructor



1. Where are you from? Born in the Philippines and grew up in Albany, NY.



2.  Where do you go to school? And what are you studying? I just finished my senior year at Albany High School. I am committed to Siena College, majoring in Business Administration.

3. What do you want to do with your degree? Getting a good job to help me further achieve my long term goal of becoming a CEO.

4. What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I want to meet new people and connect with a lot of people.

5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. The time I was given the opportunity to play with Venus Williams through 15-LOVE. That will always be a memory I'll remember. Quite a lot of people don’t believe me when I tell them this.

Damien Cenzia - Tennis Instructor



1. Where are you from? Albany, NY

2.  Where do you go to school? And what are you studying? Recently, I graduated from Albany High School.

3.  What do you want to plan to study? I have committed to HVCC, majoring in Computer Science and look forward to going into the Cyber Security field.

4.  What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I am looking forward to having another fun summer, to teach and use what I have been taught at 15-LOVE in my daily life.



5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I love biking and playing disc golf with friends in my free time. It’s a really fun experience.

 

Sven Cenzia - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Cebu, Philippines, I grew up in Albany.



2. Where do you go to school? And what are you studying? I attend Maria College, where I am a nursing major.

3. What do you want to do with your degree? First to get my associates and then apply for a bachelors program, then work at Albany Medical Center.

4. What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? Grow interpersonal skills with all age groups from students to adults.

5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? I grew up in the program and hope to bring the same type of experience to the next generation of kids.

Theodore Cenzia - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Albany, NY

2.  Where do you go to school? And what are you studying? I attend Albany High School and will be going into 10^th grade.

3.   What do you want to do with your degree? I haven’t decided what to pursue in terms of a career yet.

4.  What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? During the summer, I want to keep myself busy here at 15-LOVE.

5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I like to go on walks.

Florinda Gjypi - Massry Fellow, representing UAlbany/Education Program Instructor. 

1. Where are you from? Albania, Southeastern Europe.

2. Where do you go to school? And what are you studying? University at Albany, SUNY. Majoring in Journalism and Honors English.

3.  What do you want to do with your degree? I want to work in media advertising.



4.  What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I find it a very exciting challenge to be working with kids this young in age, and I am very excited to be delivering the literacy program to them with the summer education team. I also am hoping to create connections and since I am a lot into sports, to learn more about tennis.

5.  Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I am a huge soccer fan. My favorite team is Real Madrid. One of my favorite childhood memories is watching La Liga games with my brother, who is a Barcelona fan.

Augustin Johnson - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? I’m from Troy, NY.

2.   Where do you go to school? And what are you studying?  I go to school at Bard College, where I am studying Anthropology.

3. What do you want to do with your degree? I want to use my degree for research of art & architecture possibly. I am also considering going for a graduate degree in chemistry or engineering.

4. What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I hope to positively influence kids and improve my communication and teaching skills.

Caroline Johnson - Education Program Instructor

1.  Where are you from? Guilderland, NY.

2.   Where do you go to school? I go to Bentley University, and I am studying Business Administration with a minor in Spanish for Business.

3. What do you want to plan to study? I want to work in consulting and international business.

4.  What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I am hoping to gain more experience working on a team. I’m excited to learn and teach new things.



5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I have two brothers and I am the middle child.

Egan Johnson - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Troy, NY

2. Where do you go to school? Averill Park High School

3. What do you want to do with your degree? Still in high school

4. What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I hope to further develop my skills in communication and instruction and give back to my communities.

Korbin Freedman - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Albany, NY



2. Where do you go to school? UAlbany, I am studying Informatics and possibly Education.

3. What do you want to do with your degree? I want to go into production, live show design, video production, social media and potentially teach K-12 in the future.

4. What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I am going to be an RA next year, so it is important for me to maintain my conflict resolution and people skills. I also am hoping to empower students who really seem to want to learn tennis to take the next step, as well as help get kids interested in tennis/sports. I also love to encourage healthy relationships and lifestyles.

Millie Modasra - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Niskayuna, NY

2.  Where do you go to school? And what are you studying? I attend UAlbany and I’m majoring in Human Development.

3.  What do you want to do with your degree? I want to go into mental health therapy.

4.   What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? Reaching out to different communities and people from different backgrounds and connecting with them through tennis.

5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I’ve traveled to Switzerland and India.

Alyssa Robins - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Schenectady, NY

2.  Where do you go to school? Schenectady High School.

3.  What do you want to do with your degree? Still in high school.

4.  What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I want to learn new things and accomplish as much as I can.

5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I do a lot of sports like tennis, gymnastics, soccer, floor hockey, dance, and I’m big on archery.

Maggie Robinson - Education Program Instructor

1.  Where are you from? Guilderland, NY

2.   Where do you go to school? And what are you studying? 2023 Graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing.

3. What do you want to do with your degree? I would like a marketing role in the sports industry.

4.   What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I hope to gain new relationships with people of all different backgrounds and make a positive impact.

5.   Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I have always been passionate about sports and how they can positively impact individuals and communities.

Noah Spivey - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Schenectady,NY

2. Where do you go to school? Schenectady High School

3. What do you want to do with your degree? I am still in High School.

4. What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I hope to gain leadership and communication skills.

5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I started playing tennis when I was 4 years old.

Josiah Spivey - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Schenectady,NY

2.  Where do you go to school? And what are you studying? Hudson Valley Community College. I am studying Construction



3. What do you want to do with your degree? Build residential homes

4. What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? Experience as a worker, teaching kids skills that I’m learning.

5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. Growing up in 15-LOVE helped make me the person I am today.

Tirzah Spivey - Tennis Instructor

1. Where are you from? Clifton Park, NY

2. Where do you go to school? Russell Sage Colleges, Health Sciences

3. What do you want to do with your degree? I want to become a Physician Assistant or a Physical Therapist

4. What do you hope to gain from your experience at 15-LOVE? I hope to gain more leadership skills from teaching large group of kids in tennis.

5. Tell us something that you think many people may not know about you, or you want people to know about you? An interesting experience, memory etc. I have been involved in 15-LOVE since I was four, and now I am in my third year of teaching

On July 24th Albany County Executive Dan McCoy in partnership with 15-LOVE unveiled a new reusable shopping bag, which was designed by 15-LOVE instructor Benjamin Marino.

"Many thanks to Albany County! We were excited that our organization was selected for this fun opportunity," said 15-LOVE Executive Director Amber Marino. "We are always looking for unique ways to promote the environment and being able to put our own “spin” on the design was a great experience. This partnership came about because one of our graduates, Sameer Modasra, is working for the County in the Office of Management and Budget and was able to help make this connection. Every experience that involves our graduates or kids or families making connections like this is just a little more special.”

View WNTY news story

We are excited to welcome Massry Community Service Fellow Florinda Gjypi. She is currently pursuing her undergraduate degree at the University at Albany, SUNY. She is a senior double majoring in Honors English and journalism. Throughout the summer, here at 15-LOVE, she holds the role of a Massry Fellow, representing UAlbany. 

The fellowship that she was selected for is a scholarship given out to four currently enrolled UAlbany students who volunteer 400 hours of community service throughout the summer, at a non-profit organization found within the Capital Region. The program is made possible by the generosity of the Massry family, who aim to encourage students to make a difference in the local community. 

The goals of the Massry Community Service Fellows Program, include, among others, allowing the selected students to learn how non-profits run by taking part in key organizational functions, for them to gain pre-professional experience supervised by professional staff at non-profits, and giving them the opportunity to apply their academic studies to real-life work situations while supplying hands-on support to non-profits as a key part of the Capital Region community.

“The reason that I choose to work with 15-LOVE is because of my passion for sports, and how beneficial it is for kids and young adults to be enrolled in a summer program that brings together a sport like tennis, with literature, STEM, gardening, and a lot of other great activities. It seemed like an amazing organization to be part of and a great opportunity to gain professional experience while having fun,” Florinda said. 

Her responsibilities at 15-LOVE include helping to deliver lessons multiple times throughout the week to students in the 15-LOVE office and at other designated sites, assisting the summer education team in preparing educational and healthy living tips and recipes for distribution to all summer participants, as well as working on social media content, newsletter content, and website content for the organization. 

“All these responsibilities are helping me gain direct experience related to my academic background, as well as all the learning that I am doing by being here throughout the summer. It’s an amazing organization, and I am honored to be part of it,” Florinda said. 

Summer Programming Update

by Florinda Gypi

With more than 300 students enrolled in the education program that consists of STEM, literature, gardening, and arts and crafts, on top of tennis, summer days are busy at the 15-LOVE office, as well as at the tennis courts. Busy, but fun!

At 15-LOVE, Mondays are STEM days, and Wednesdays are a mix of literature, gardening, and cooking lessons. The rest of the week is left to programming by the summer education team who plan lessons and put together activities to deliver to the kids during class days at the 15-LOVE office and other sites like Albany School of Humanities (ASH), Arbor Hill, Brighter Choice Charter Elementary School, etc., that they visit to deliver these lessons to.

“All the work that happens at the 15-LOVE office, sites that we visit weekly, and at the tennis courts, is a product of team effort that we all do together. Throughout the week we deliver lessons, plan, come up with new ideas for recipes, and put our best effort in order for the kids registered in the program to remember their time here as one of their best life experiences,” said Anjalee Modasra, Healthy Living director and part of the summer education team at 15-LOVE.

Moreover, on Wednesdays, kids help prepare recipes at the office using fresh-grown vegetables at the 15-LOVE garden, which is one of their favorite activities. The summer education team members also come up with healthy living tips that are distributed weekly to up to 4,000 summer participants at tennis courts and the above-mentioned designated site partners of 15-LOVE in the Capital Region.

“This summer we are again partnering with the SUNY Polytechnic Institute, on our summer STEM program, as well as the Cornell Cooperative Extension, which offers a nutrition and healthy cooking lesson for our kids every Wednesday,” said Modasra.

Many of the kids that are registered for the summer classes are also registered to learn how to play tennis and work closely each week with the 15-LOVE instructors who teach tennis to different age groups kids in multiple sites.

“All of the instructors are closely trained at the beginning of summer, in order to train all of the kids registered in the summer program. There are different age groups, some of the kids are learning how to play tennis for the first time, and some of them are returners from past years in the program. Some of our current instructors grew up in the program, and now that they are older, they coach tennis,” said Domingo Montes, Programming director at 15-LOVE.

Learning how to play tennis, and being part of weekly classes where you get to participate in very creative as well as healthy activities isn’t only productive but is also very fun. Kids enjoy interacting with each other, learning new things, and creating meaningful, long-lasting memories, which is an advantage that they get by being part of 15-LOVE.

A big thank you to Schenectady Tennis Association for hosting a tennis social to help raise funds for 15-LOVE. The event took place on July 13th at the Central Park Tennis Courts in Schenectady.

The morning started with a Round Robin of tennis followed by lunch. Not only did they raise funds they also collected several new and gently used tennis racquets for our kids. Again, thank you everyone we are so grateful for your continued support of our program!

A big thank you to 15-LOVE supporter Liz Rutnik and J. McLaughlin in Newton Plaza for hosting a Sip + Shop event to help raise funds to support 15-LOVE programming on July 20.

They donated 15% of sales from the 4-hour event. They provided a wonderful shopping experience, and we provided homemade lemonade with fresh mint from our garden.

We are so lucky to have so many amazing community supporters! Thank you everyone for coming out to shop!

Community Partner's

Learn about all the amazing things

USTA Eastern is doing.

Learn about all the incredible things the

USTA Foundation is up to.

Learn more about SUNY Polytechnic Institute

Learn about Cornell Cooperative Extension and their mission

Thank you for considering a gift to 15-LOVE! 15-LOVE (Capital Region Youth Tennis Foundation, Inc) is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. All purchases made from this list for the organization are tax deductible to the extent permissible by law.