Participating in Community Service
is a big part of undergraduate life at Union College.
Each year Union opens its academic
calendar by involving freshmen and other members of the campus community to
take part in a daylong community service project. The commitment to community
service does not stop at the stroke of midnight for most of Union's population.
In fact, the athletic department's 25 intercollegiate varsity teams have been
committed to community service for a number of years.
“Being involved in community
service projects allows our team to give something back and shows our kids how
other people live and what they have and don't have,” said head football
coach John Audino, whose team is involved in several activities throughout the
year. “Getting involved also helps with team chemistry, leadership, and
allows our kids to have fun outside of football and Union.”
One of the community service
projects that have been undertaken by the football team is tutoring elementary
school children at Zoller School in Schenectady. Audino, in conjunction with
Mike Newell '74 and Jane Poklemba, began working with the fourth and fifth
grade boys as Zoller School last spring and have taken the project to a higher
level this fall.
“The guys have been great,” said
Poklemba, who is the principal at Zoller. “There has been nothing but
compliments from the teacher/advisors and me!
The two teachers that are advisors for the club, Mrs. Clawson and Mrs.
Gutowski, are big fans. The rest of the
staff thinks it's a great thing for our students.”
Before members of the football
team can take part in this weekly “Homework Club”, they go through an
orientation.
“We review the logistics of
course, where to meet, where to park, and other similar organizational
necessities,” explained Poklemba. “We
talk about our school, the nature of the students, the importance of being a
good role model, and planting the seed of 'college.' We advise the college mentors not to get into personal issues,
but to focus on the homework.”
According to Poklemba, many of the
students at Zoller have special needs.
Whether it is financial, behavioral, or academic, the students at
Zoller, which has 515 students and is the largest elementary school in the
district, are at some kind of disadvantage.
“Last year we tapped 'at risk'
students for the club,” said Poklemba.
“We continued with these boys this year but also opened the club up to
other students as well; every boy wanted to be involved! The focus, however, is still primarily on
students who need extra support.”
Newell, who is past president and
current treasurer/secretary for the Fighting Dutchmen Gridiron Club, helped get
the project started and sees it as a win-win situation for both the boys at
Zoller and the student-athletes who represent the Union College football
program.
“The children at Zoller get a role model,
motivation to do school work, a mentor, and a friend,” he says. “The players
get the opportunity to work in the community, a chance to work with children,
and a friend.”
Seniors Ed Larkin, who is one of
the team's captains, and Joe Andriano and junior Tim Cannon feel fortunate to
be involved.
“I have always felt it was
extremely important to use ones own gifts and talents to help others,” said
Larkin, who is from Tupper Lake, New York. “As college students at Union we
obviously have tremendous opportunities in front of us, and this gives us a
chance to give something to people with fewer opportunities.
“The benefits for the kids at
Zoller are unbelievable,” he continued.
“These kids don't differentiate us from the football players at Miami or
Ohio State. They are getting a chance
for someone they hold in such high regard to sit down with them, one on one,
and help them with their homework. They get someone who they can look up to who
provides a quality roll model.
“I personally have taken more from
this than the kids have,” Larkin continued. “It is extremely fulfilling to see
the smiles on these kids' faces every week.
You feel like a celebrity every time you're there, and honestly, you
make a one of a kind friendship with a kid that has a lot to offer.”
Andriano, a resident of nearby
Watervliet, also feels that he has gotten as much, if not more, from the
experience.
“I have learned from this
experience,” he says. “I have never
spent this much time with the type of kids that this program involves, and it
has certainly been an interesting experience. The best part of this whole
program, for me, has been that it is a lot of fun. I think that we have just as much fun each week as the kids do,
and that's what makes it successful.”
While “homework” is the key
element for the Homework Club boys, the project is not all work and no
play. The first half hour to 40 minutes
accomplishes the academic goal, but it is the final 10 to 15 minutes that the
kids from Zoller really look forward to.
“After the work is finished the
boys get to go out and have a playtime with the member of the football team,”
Poklemba explained. “That is what our
kids really look forward to doing.”
Andriano agrees, “I think my
favorite part of the involvement might be the same as theirs, playtime. If the kids do their work they are allowed
to spend the last 15 minutes of every other session throwing around the
football with us. It is a great joy for
them to be able to play football with “real” football players.
“Aside from this, the pleasure of
knowing that I am helping out a kid that really needs it is enough to keep me
coming back each week.”
Cannon, a native of Roxbury, Massachusetts, got involved
because he heard this program was being put together with the football team and
he had done a great deal of volunteer work with kids at home in his local
community center and saw an opportunity to do the same in Schenectady.
“Every Monday
when we go over to the Zoller it puts everything in my life on hold for an hour
and allows me to try and help a local child with their homework and throw the
football around,” he explained. “The big thing is just witnessing the smiles on
these the kids' faces when the 25 or so of us walk in to their school. My
favorite part of the involvement is spending time with these kids and my
teammates in an atmosphere where it seems like all involved are really enjoying
being together.
The immediate gains that Poklemba
sees from the interaction with the members of Union's team are that the Zoller
students are improving academically while at the same time raising their self
esteem. Her long-range hope is that the
idea of going to college will be planted.
“I see the relationships
potentially being an important factor in how our students feel about
themselves,” she explained. “The vast
majority of our students do not have parents who have attended college so it's
not an automatic. Most of our students
however have the intelligence to get into a college but need it to be on their
radar screen, which it isn't typical.
I'm hoping that this experience will open the door and plant the seed.”
Audino is extremely pleased that
so many of his players have decided to contribute their time and talents to the
Zoller students and feels that the experience will be something that will be
part of their Union memories.
“This project allows our football
players to get out into the community and help someone else by giving their
time to a good group of kids who need role models,” Audino explained. “It benefits the players because it shows
them how influential they can be in a young person's life and allows them to
give back and use their talents to improve someone else's life and attitude.
“The players and kids are getting
to know each other and develop relationships with people from different
backgrounds. The players are learning
that not everyone has the things that they have. Our guys are having a lot of
fun with the children and are beginning to bond with them. I honestly believe that being involved with
this project will be one of the fondest memories of their Union College
experience.”
On October 30, in conjunction with
the NCAA's Seventh Annual “Take a Kid to the Game” program, the Zoller students
and their parents are being invited to the Dutchmen's regular-season home
finale against St. Lawrence. Union is one of more than 200 schools across the nation that are
taking part in this campaign, which is focused on allowing youth the opportunity
to attend college football games.
“The athletic department is very pleased and proud to have
the Zoller students and their parents be part of the NCAA initiative,” said
Ramsey Baker '93, Union's Associate Director of Athletics. “We are providing the children and their
parents with free admission, we are giving them all autographed team schedule
posters and we will be recognizing them on the field at halftime. We will also invite them to participate in
the Halloween costume contest that we will be having.”
Perhaps
Larkin summed it up best when he said, “These
kids, though most have very few opportunities in life, are so vibrant and have
so much potential. If this program can
help even a small percentage of the kids realize the potential they have and
drive them to succeed, the success of the program cannot even be measured. “