North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Wolfpack Freshmen Meet Their E-pals
11/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Nov. 21, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. - A few years ago, when NC State freshman tailback Andre Brown was a middle-school student in Baltimore, he participated in a pen-pal program with athletes from the University of Maryland.
He met basketball players Steve Francis and Joe Smith, who both went on to become first-round picks in the NBA draft. He heard their advice about getting good grades.
Friday, he got his chance to share that same message with a new set of eager ears.
Brown was one of 10 athletes who fielded questions from about 130 elementary school kids from Greensboro's VandaliaElementary School, the highlight of a semester-long e-pal project - think pen-pal via e-mail - in which all 120 of NC State's freshman athletes correspond with fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders from the school.
Friday those students came with their principal, curricular facilitator, seven teachers and a handful of parents to meet their e-pals in person, take a tour of the athletics facilities and have lunch with dozens of college athletes.
It's a program that began when NC State assistant director academic support Carrie Leger came here four years ago from ElonUniversity, where she and her sister, a teacher in the Greensboro school system, coordinated a similar program with GuilfordCounty students.
All of the approximately 120 freshman athletes participate in the e-pals program as part of a freshman orientation class. They are matched up with kids from the elementary schools and they exchange frequent e-mails.
"It's kind of cool, because the program is supposed to be for the kids, but we have athletes all the time who come in wondering `Why hasn't my e-pal written me today?' " Leger said.
Friday, they all got to meet face-to-face, beginning with an introduction from assistant basketball coach Archie Miller, who out-lined to the students what it takes to become a college athlete, both athletically and academically.
Then the students got to ask questions for more than a half-hour. Some were typical of elementary school students: Can I have your autograph? How many trophies do you have? Do you have to go to school on weekends? To 6-9 freshman basketball player Brandon Costner, how tall are you?
But there were also a handful of questions that just might have an impact on an impressionable audience: What kind of grades do you have to have to go to college? When did you start playing your sport? Why did you choose NC State?
The athletes were just as eager to answer.
"You have to be dedicated and manage your time wisely," freshman basketball player Courtney Fells told the students. "You have to keep up with your grades. It's very important to maintain all your studies."
Afterwards, the athletes came away feeling good about participating in the program; it was certainly more than just another academic assignment.
"It was good to see them excited about college and athletics," said gymnast Ashley Shepard, a freshman from Rock Hill, S.C.
"You never know who you are going to impact by what you do or say," said men's basketball player Courtney Fells. "Basically all of us need to stay focused on school, and I like sharing that message with younger students."
By the end of the day, the elementary students had spent the day seeing what it was like to be a college student, and what it might take to put themselves in that position. But they weren't the only ones to be enriched by participating in the e-pals program.
"Much has been given to these young athletes, and they have earned it," said Phil Moses, the director of the NC State academic support program. "But it is also important for them to give back some of their time. It makes the kids and the athletes feel better, and that's what we are supposed to be doing."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
