Adam Glanzman for The New York Times
Kaetu Wleh, who emigrated from Liberia to Boston with his mother as a newborn, never had a favorite sport growing up. But six years ago, as a middle school student, he took a chance on an after-school program called SquashBusters, which is financed by donations and provides students from challenged communities with academic tutoring and expert coaching in squash.
“I joined because the squash goggles looked cool,” Wleh said.
At roughly the same time, in central Massachusetts, the leadership at Amherst College vowed to find more athletes of color to diversify predominantly white team rosters.