2015 Ray Whitehouse – “Augustin” Augustin Augustin Tronou is a high school basketball player from Chicago with aspirations of getting a college scholarship so that he can get a college education. “Basketball is my passion but you’ve got to go to school. If you don’t go to school, you can’t be successful,” he said. “Some people try to define me through basketball. It’s not who I am. It’s what I do. I’m just a young man trying to make something out of nothing.” Augustin holds a basketball during orientation for his job at Greencorps Chicago, a job training program through the city of Chicago for young people with barriers to employment. The orientation took place in the outdoor playground attached to Alternatives, a youth development center in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. Augustin approaches the entrance of Cook Country Courthouse in Chicago for a preliminary hearing on his trial stemming from a July 15 arrest for robbery. Augustin hands in his phone to before his teachers begin proctoring the ACT, a standardized test measuring college readiness on a scale from 1 to 36. Augustin needs to score an 18 in order to be eligible for a basketball scholarship. On this occasion, he scored what he called a “Steve Nash,” or 13, which is the number NBA player Steve Nash wore with the Phoenix Suns. He plans to take it again. In a Morton Grove, IL apartment complex, Augustin gets a tattoo that reads “Family First.” Augustin speaks with his mother Dede Agnimou in their Rogers Park apartment. They usually speak in French because that is the language Augustin learned as a child Togo. The family immigrated when in 2002 when Augustin was 7. Augustin and his high school teammates ride the bus to a game in Mundelein, IL. Augustin goes up for a dunk during a game in Metamora, IL. Augustin shakes hands with a friend at a Fourth of July hotel party that he co-hosted in downtown Chicago. Augustin smiles with his classmates at the 2014 Uplift Graduation Ceremony. After Augustin scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a game at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament, Kennedy-King Junior College Head Coach Robert Holloway asked to meet with him. The coach expressed interest in having Augustin learn more about the Kennedy-King basketball program and invited him to attend a game. Augustin decided to attend Kennedy-King Junior College and will play basketball in college next season. These images are copyright Ray Whitehouse and are use here by permission. They may not be used elsewhere without permission.
