DREAM BIG: Your Dreams Are Your Future
Brought to you annually by the Windward Parents Association and Windward Alumni Office, Dream Big: Your Dreams Are Your Future program began in 2011. Each year Dream Big features prominent, inspirational speakers who share their stories about overcoming obstacles and going on to achieve their dreams. The goal of the program is to engage Windward middle school students and our extended community in an encouraging, interactive event as a reminder that having a language-based learning disability need not hold anyone back from a lifetime of achievement.
2023 Featured Speaker: Patrick Ewing Jr. '02
Patrick attended Windward's Westchester Middle School from 1996 - 1999. He also attended Georgetown University, where he lettered in basketball and was named the Big East Sixth Man of the Year while helping lead his team to back-to-back Big East regular season championships, a Big East Tournament championship, and a Final Four. Drafted in the 2008 NBA Draft, Patrick played professionally for eight years, including three years overseas in Germany, Spain, Greece, and Qatar, where he was named an All-Star and four-time All-League.
He has also excelled in many positions off the court including Director of Men’s Basketball Operations at Georgetown, camp director, business manager, and alumni relations coordinator, to name a few. In 2021, he was named the lead assistant coach of the Ottawa Blackjacks, and in 2022, he was named the inaugural head coach and general manager of the Newfoundland Growlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL).
He is the eldest son of Hall of Fame basketball player and New York Knicks legend Patrick Ewing. He and his wife Katie live in Virginia with their four children.
Watch Patrick's Lecture Here
Past Dream Big Featured Presenters Include:
2011 – The Kings Speech Screening
2012 – Dannel Malloy, Governor of Connecticut
2013 – Screening of The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia, by James Redford
2014 - Ben Foss, Lecturer, Teacher, Founder of Headstrong Nation
2015 – Meryl Davis, Olympic Ice Dancer and Dyslexic
2016 - David Flink, CEO and Chief Empowerment Officer of Eye to Eye National
2017 – Jack Horner, Paleontologist
2018 – Meryl Davis, Olympic Ice Dancer and Dyslexic
2019 – Robert Carroll ’04, New York State Assemblymember NYC
2020 - Denis J. O’Leary, III ‘06, Senior Investment Associate at Bridgewater Associates and Member of The Windward School Board of Trustees
2021- Julie Schechter ‘06, Criminal Defense Attorney
2022- Reed Switzer, '19, Co-Founder and CEO of Hopscotch
 |
Learn More & Support Future Dream Big ProgramsMichelle Spino Andruss |