Bobby Starks grew up as a Student-Athlete, but during his freshman year of high school, the Athlete part took precedence. Soon his failure to achieve satisfactory grades, he believed, began to affect his future.

“I missed out on a couple of schools that I would have loved to attend,” Starks said.  “This taught me a valuable lesson that I still apply today in my life. The decisions that you make today will affect your life tomorrow.”

As Parker’s new Athletic Director, Starks now hopes to teach this lesson to the athletes of the Parker community.    

Growing up in the Hyde Park and Woodlawn neighborhoods of Chicago, Starks’s exposure to sports and recreation fueled his passion for years to come. Starks frequented his community YMCA and enjoyed activities in parks and green spaces in his community.

After attending college, Starks began working for the Chicago Park District, focusing on providing adolescents help with sports, recreation, and job-training. Starks worked with kids of all ages back then, but mostly those in high school.

Four years with the Park District led Starks to After School Matters, an organization that “partners with the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Public Schools to create apprenticeships for high school aged students,” according to Starks. Starks worked on the administrative staff establishing and assessing programming. This opportunity allowed him to participate in something he enjoys most, to “engage with people to improve their lives.”

A more recent stop on the job train took Starks to Chicago State University. There, Starks held the position of Associate Athletic Director for Facilities and Operations. Starks was responsible athletics facilities, including campus recreation programs and home game management.

While at Chicago State University, the Athletic Department underwent massive restructuring.  “I was responsible for revamping our campus recreation program,” Starks said. “When I came to campus, there were only intramural basketball programs.  Upon my departure the unit was thriving with aquatic programs, special events, a host of recreational programs.”

Along with game day operations and improving the recreational aspect of the University, Starks helped to improve the “brand image” of the University. “We developed an outreach program which targeted local schools, parks, and community based organizations,” Starks said.  “These partnerships led to in-game entertainment, theme fan days, and mentorship programs between our teams and our fans,” Starks said.    

Starks believes that all of these past jobs and endeavors have prepared him for the Athletic Director’s spot at Parker. “I feel that each stop throughout my career got me to this point,” Starks said. “Marrying my two passions, youth development as well as sports and recreation, is my sweet spot.”  

This idea of youth development within the sports and recreation world is something that Starks will strive continually to establish at Parker.  “I look forward to helping in the growth and developmental process of the whole person, physically, emotionally, socially and otherwise through the lens of athletics,” Starks said, adding that this “aligns with the overall mission and ethos for our school.”

In the future Parker athletics coaches should “weave life lessons, teachable moments, and developmental challenges in their daily practice plans,” Starks said.“When we function on that level, that is when the magic happens.” This, he believes, will help to further the development of the student athletes.

This idea is deeply embedded in him as a person.  Starks said, “My personal mission states that I should improve myself and the lives of others through solid morals and ethics.”

One aspect that Junior soccer player Max Moog appreciates about Starks is his personability and personal connection to the Student-Athlete life. “I trust him because he really had a lot of experience being a student athlete,” Moog said, “not just in high school but also in college.”

Starks’s experience also attracted Moog’s attention. “I think with his past experience he will be able to better understand problems that may arise and then solve them faster,” Moog said, “and make sure they don’t come up again.”