Members of an athletic family, Shannen Hogue and her brother Doug Hogue are now bringing their competitive spirit to an important shared project, the Hogue Foundation (thehoguefoundation.com). Their family has deep roots in Yonkers where providing opportunities to young people is their mission.
A basketball standout at Roosevelt High School, Shannen was the first female athlete in the school to receive a Division I athletic scholarship. Unfortunately, a knee injury hampered her hoop dreams, but those dreams found new purpose when she was a student at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she led the Division III team to one of its most successful seasons. Today, she is a detective specialist with the Yonkers Police Department. Meanwhile, Doug received a football scholarship to Syracuse University and went on to play professionally in the NFL. Having earned a bachelor’s degree in education, he became a physical education teacher at a Yonkers public school after his pro career concluded.
“The foundation has become such a big part of my day-to-day,” said Shannen. “In part what I do on the police force is community affairs. Our nonprofit allows my brother and I to really dig in and do some of the necessary work for local kids. We both have a spirit of giving back and some really beautiful and positive adults have helped us.”
Already active as athletic coaches in the community, the foundation goes beyond sports. For the third year, they’re conducting a college tour planned for Feb. 18–19. They hope to take 25 high school students to visit Syracuse University, University of Albany, and SUNY Cortland.
“Some of what we do as an organization is connected to our own stories,” said Shannen. “We come from humble beginnings. Our parents couldn’t afford to take us around to a bunch of different colleges to visit … Kids should have the opportunity to check out some of the places they might want to consider for college.”
The first year they ran the college tour, Shannen and Doug personally covered all the costs. People saw what they were doing and donations helped fund last year and this year along with some grant funding. Exposing kids from marginalized populations to the possibilities of higher education is key.
“Showing our kids that there’s more and they should try to experience as much as possible,” said Shannen. “From each of the first two tours, we’ve had at least one student really enjoy, apply and attend one of the schools we went to. One kid is even at John Jay and loving it.”