How Christen Harper Is Fostering Education With Detroit Lions Academy

The SI Swimsuit model works closely with children at an alternative school, where she mentors young girls through self-esteem and positivity workshops.

Christen Harper / Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

Pay It Forward is a column where we highlight women, brands, and organizations pushing for progress and affecting change within their respective industries. As part of our Pay With Change initiative, features are nominated by SI Swimsuit models, editors and community members. This month, we highlight Christen Harper’s work with Detroit Lions Academy, a Detroit-based alternative school.

In 2021, SI Swimsuit model Christen Harper’s husband, Jared Goff, was traded to the Detroit Lions, and the 31-year-old model knew very little about the city. In order to get acquainted with her new hometown, the California native sought out charitable organizations to get involved with. One of the first was Forgotten Harvest, a mobile food rescue organization in Metro Detroit.

“When we first moved here, I didn’t know much about Detroit, and I think volunteering gives such an amazing opportunity to really connect with what’s actually going on in the city, the needs of the city, the people of the city,” Harper says. “Just getting involved right off the bat ... I really got to understand what was going on and connect with people and even connect with fellow volunteers. It made Detroit quickly feel like home.”

Over the last three years, Harper and Goff have become beloved members of the Detroit community, and the 2022 SI Swimsuit co-Rookie of the Year has really rolled up her sleeves to give back on a regular basis. In addition to Forgotten Harvest, she has teamed up with Toys for Tots and works with the Detroit Lions Academy on a regular basis, where she mentors young girls through self-esteem and positivity workshops.

DLA Girls workshop at Detroit Lions Academy / Courtesy of Christen Harper

Through the DLA Girls program, Harper and other Detroit Lions WAGS, coaches and staff members mentor young girls at the school and provide a support system while inspiring kids to get excited to learn. Recently, they brought in a guest speaker who taught a lesson on financial literacy, while Harper led an interactive lesson on STEM earlier this fall.

“The overarching theme is self-esteem building [and] confidence, because that kind of just trickles into everything that they will do. So it kind of starts there,” Harper explains of her work with the Detroit Lions Academy. “But we like to keep it interesting ... I did a lip gloss lab where we were making science fun by making little lip gloss kits, which the girls really loved, and just getting them interested and excited about different fields so they can figure out what they’re interested in in life and go after it.”

Christen Harper leads DLA Girls workshop at Detroit Lions Academy / Courtesy of Christen Harper

During the 2022-23 school year, the Detroit Lions Academy’s graduation rate was significantly higher than previous years, which Harper considers one of the most rewarding aspects of her work with the institution.

“To see [students] change throughout the course of a semester, you know, coming in maybe a little bit more shy and reserved and by the end being excited and talkative and just really seeing them bloom with their confidence, that’s so rewarding to see,” Harper adds. “Because you just know that that girl then is going to go take on other things in her life and have that confidence with her and I think that’s just so exciting to see.”

The importance of giving back is a value Harper’s parents instilled in her at a young age, and she hopes that by sharing her story, she can encourage others to get involved in their local community.

“That’s what we’re here for, is to help each other and lift each other up when other people need it,” she says. “I just feel like that’s what makes my life feel fulfilled and it makes me feel so grateful just to be able to give back in any way.”

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