Student-Athletes Volunteer Time with Project Mentor

Buckeyes speak about experiences, challenges to area youth

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State student-athletes from eight different sports took time from their studies last week to visit area middle schools as part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters Project Mentor program.

 

Project Mentor, which pairs area youth with adult mentors, focuses on helping students develop a sense of future and improve academics. Volunteers come from more than 80 business and community partners, as well as the community at large.

 

“Typically, our volunteers come to a nearby school for about an hour each week to meet with their student one-on-one, and this past week was Ohio State student-athlete week,” Edward Cohn, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio President and CEO, said.  “We had student-athletes from The Ohio State University come in and talk to the students, first about their athletics and how that’s helped them, but mainly about their education and why it’s so important to where they are headed in life and the effort it takes to accomplish what they do.”

 

Thursday, sophomore Jared Sullinger and freshman Sam Thompson from the men’s basketball team, spoke to program members and their mentors at Dominion Middle School in Columbus. The pair shared their experiences as Ohio State athletes, in addition to personal stories about facing peer pressure and the importance of strong grades.

 

“It means a lot to us as a program to try to reach out to the community,” Thompson said. “We’re given so much by the city of Columbus and Ohio State and it was a great experience to come out to the school and talk to the kids and interact with them. I remember a few years ago when I would look up to the older athletes at my school and to know that I will have an effect on these kids’ lives means a great deal to me,”

 

In addition to the men’s basketball team, members of the women’s golf, men’s soccer, men’s track and field, men’s swimming, women’s gymnastics, synchronized swimming and baseball teams also took time to speak throughout the week.

 

“It’s very inspirational for the students,” Cohn said. “A lot of students don’t get as much encouragement as we’d like to see for studying, especially outside of school. When they hear how hard these student-athletes work and what they achieve academically and not just as athletes, it is very inspirational to them.”