Week 2 Part 1: LiFE Sports Camp

The second week of Bucks Go Pro got rolling bright and early Monday morning as we ventured to the OSU ice rink to prepare for a day full of activities with children participating in this year’s Life Sports Camp. Every intern was very excited to take part in this youth development initiative, since it provides valuable learning experiences and transforms the lives of at-risk youth through sports and physical fitness activities. As we arrived at our meeting location at 7:30 a.m., the camp staff and Bucks Go Pro interns filed into the chilly ice rink and sat down in the bleachers. Then, the camp leaders passed out a map of campus and a list of locations with corresponding activities we were to take the campers to from 8-11:30 that morning. After our debriefing, the interns found and acquainted ourselves with the staff members we had been paired with for the day while waiting for the children to arrive off of their buses.

IMG_7636     Around 8 a.m. the children began pouring into the ice rink, dancing to the music booming out of the speakers in the room. Each child had received juice and breakfast food, which the children surrounding me were chowing down on, and I could not help but be a tad jealous because the food looked delicious! After attendance had been taken, each group was called to leave the room one-by-one and begin their scavenger hunt for the day. My group was one of the last to go because we were number six, but my group did not mind since our lower number also gave us the earlier lunch. As we exited the room and embarked on our journey, the children in my group eagerly chattered with one another and skipped around full of energy. Our first stop was at Scott Lab where the instructions on our paper told us to take an O-H-I-O picture underneath the sky walk. After this, we walked a few minutes down the road to Smith Lab to hear a presentation on engineering and to Denney Hall for a presentation on medicine. The children were fascinated by both the engineer and doctors, and I could hear them eagerly telling each other they wanted to be in both of those professions when they grow up.

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Before heading to lunch, we finished up our scavenger hunt by making stops at different buildings on campus to hear presentations from an event planner and the police, learn about campus life at the McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion and shoot some hoops at the Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC). There were a handful of other stops that included presentations on geology, nutrition, nursing, cancer research, sports psychology and many more but unfortunately, my group did not have time to reach them all as campus stretches a good distance from one place to the next.IMG_7773IMG_7775

After a hearty lunch, half of the groups made our way over to The Shoe to hear a presentation from the OSU Marching Band. The children excitedly raised their hands to answer questions the band director asked and I was surprised to learn just how many of the kids could play an instrument! Then, 15 members from the marching and athletics bands entered the room carrying an array of instruments the kids stared at in awe. When the band began to play songs ranging from Hang on Sloopy to Buckeye Swag, the campers tapped their feet, swayed their heads or played the air drums. At the end, the children got an opportunity to ask the band members questions about their instruments or why they majored in music before returning happily to their buses, eagerly devouring a cold ice cream sandwich amidst the hot day.

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Overall, the day was definitely an eye opener for my fellow interns and me as we worked with kids in need of support and guidance. One girl stuck by my side the entire day and begged for me to come back the following day, which surprised me because I had not realized how much of an impact we had made on the children in such a short time. When I told her I could not stay because of work the next day, she told me to let my boss know she was going to steal me, which made me chuckle. After meeting up with the other interns at the end of the day, I heard Alexis Degler, an intern for the development department, talking about how she loved the experience. Everyone surrounding her listened as she said, “I love working with kids and especially those right here in Columbus. I think it is extremely important as student-athletes to connect with boys and girls who struggle from day to day because we are their role models in the community, so they look up to us.” This became apparent to all of the interns as we discovered how many of the campers gravitated toward us wanting to hang out and learn about our sports. Looking back at the day, every intern left with a sense of satisfaction in knowing we had made a positive impact on the children and were even more excited for our volunteer work for the next day this week.

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