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As the
nation's top
ranked Division
3 team, you
might expect to
find the
Illinois
Wesleyan women
on the
basketball
court. But the
Titans also make
an "extra
effort" to spend
time in the
classroom - and
not just on
their campus.
"We go into
separate groups
and my favorite
game to play
with them is
multiplication
baseball," said
Colene Hoose
third grader
Olivia Peters.
"They help us
with reading."
Twice a month,
the Titans visit
Christa Hoder's
third grade
class to work
with the
students. The
time isn't
mandatory but
most of the
players say they
wouldn't miss
it.
"You can just
see that it
makes a
difference in
their day," said
IWU senior guard
Claire Sheehan.
"Taking an hour
out of our day
to come here and
be with them -
it means a lot
to them and to
us."
"It really
humbles us to
know the little
kids at grammar
school are
excited to see
us and excited
to get our
help," said
junior center
Christina Solari.
"It's cool to be
able to give
back to the
community that
Wesleyan is
involved in."
Last month the
support the
Titans provide
was repaid..
when the third
graders took a
class trip to
the Shirk Center
to watch a game.
"We got to go
and watch them
play," said
Peters. "We
made posters and
it was a lot of
fun."
"It's like wow,
they're really
playing on the
court," added
classmate Austin
Ellison. "It's
the first time
seeing them so
it's pretty
cool."
The Titans are
used to higher
level classwork
but some, like
Solari, have
found benefits
in something as
elementary as
discovering the
main point of a
paragraph.
"I'm studying
for the LSAT
right now, and
they're doing
main point and
main ideas..
I'm like, this
would've been
helpful if I had
done this when I
was little.. now
I'd be really
good at it." |
