Because Paul Harris’ parents refused to let him believe that athletics was his only path to a successful future, he dedicated himself to being a similar protective factor for all students, especially Black youth, in their college and career readiness process.
Harris, formerly a high school counselor in Virginia, took first-generation, low-income, racial minority students on field trips to colleges to help build their self-efficacy and agency in their progress.
Now an associate professor of education (counselor education) in the College of Education’s Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education at Penn State, Harris evaluates interventions he designed, such as a group counseling curriculum called Men Passionately Pursuing Purpose (MP3).
MP3 was designed to promote the identity development and overall college and career readiness of Black male student-athletes. His goal, he said, is to help Black male student-athletes see their sport as platforms for a larger purpose.
He hopes for them to see themselves as more than an athlete — as an academic, as a scholar.
“I would say my own story is what sparked it all,” Harris said. “As a kid growing up on Long Island, I attended a high school where 90% or so went on to two- or four-year colleges, so it was a really high-achieving space. And yet, my own identity was wrapped up in athletics way more than it was academics.
“When I reflect on that, I wonder how that happened — this high-achieving environment and yet here I am, this Black male feeling like my only way out was athletics. I’ve since learned that many Black males across all contexts are socialized and conditioned to value athletics over academics and are deceived into thinking it is their primary vehicle to success instead of just one of many options.”
Harris continues to explore the college and career readiness process of Black youth. He analyzes the identity development process of Black male student-athletes and the role of school counselors in facilitating their multidimensional sense of self. And he examines the process of training school counselors to promote equity and access in K-12 schools.
Harris left his role as associate professor in the counselor education program at his alma mater, the University of Virginia, to come to Penn State. He has since served as a guest editor on two special issues — one with Professional School Counseling, the flagship journal for his profession, that focused on males of color and school counseling, and another with Teaching and Supervision in Counseling journal that focused on anti-racist counselor education.
Harris, formerly awarded a grant from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to design a mobile application, is applying for a new grant with colleagues and in partnership with Penn State athletic department, to build on such work.
“The purpose of the proposed study is to unearth and explain the processes that promote a sense of belonging, mental health and multidimensional sense of self among Black student-athletes at predominately white institutions. We are centering the voices of the student-athletes to help us do that,” he said.
He currently is teaching second-year graduate students in the counselor education program and supervises them as they serve as interns at local elementary, middle and high schools. “We discuss what they’re experiencing in the field,” Harris said. “My job in those spaces is to provide guidance, to provoke thought and to help them effectively engage in whatever scenario they might encounter.”
He said that is an extension of the broader passion of his to promote equity and access in schools, which is a focal point of the College of Education under Dean Kim Lawless.
“Having a dean explicitly state and emphasize an anti-racist vision and strategic plan for the entire college is very rare; that was huge for me in choosing to move my family to State College,” he said.