Lisa Harwood

Lisa Harwood | Daughter of GW Hall of Fame basketball player Larry "Tex" Silverman, A.A. '53

Ms. Harwood's family legacy—in the form of her father's signature—is written onto the Smith Center floor for all to see. The late Mr. Silverman was scouted as a high school student in the 1940s by Red Auerbach, B.S. '40, M.A. '41, sparking a six-decade friendship. The Silverman family sat one row behind Mr. Auerbach at GW home games for years—Section 103, rows F and G.

"Seeing dad's name on the court, it just makes me feel really close to him, like we're still together. We did a lot of stuff together, and a lot of it revolved around sports. You don't ever want to forget him. Not just his basketball career or his business success, which came from getting a scholarship to play basketball here—I mean my dad would never have gone to college if it wasn't for a basketball scholarship. He got offers from Purdue, William & Mary and here. And his older brother said, 'You have to go to Washington, D.C., because there are so many opportunities for you there.'"