Ohio State’s LiFE Sports Program Hosts College and Career Day Thursday – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
Buckeye assistant wrestling coach Joe Heskett will serve as a welcome speaker before participants embark on learning sessions involving 19 colleges around campus; day includes tour of Ohio Stadium
COLUMBUS, Ohio The Ohio State University’s Learning in Fitness and Education (LiFE Sports) summer youth program will host College and Career Day Thursday on campus.
Formerly known as the National Youth in Sports Program (NYSP), LiFE runs through July 10 (8 a.m.-2 p.m.) as a program for approximately 600 youth from the Central Ohio area. LiFE involves daily curriculum that consists of four physical activity sessions and one play-based education session. These activities focus on the development of social competence through sport and other play-based enrichment activities.
Thursday, LiFE participants will be introduced to various areas and disciplines within the university as the program maintains one of its goals of encouraging higher education to Central Ohio youth.
“Career day is going to be great,” Dr. Jerry Davis, LiFE program director and assistant director of athletics event management at Ohio State, said. “The participants will be offered a wide range of interests. We currently have (the university’s) First Year Experience, Economic Access Initiative and 19 colleges from around campus involved throughout the day.”
To start off the day, Joe Heskett, an assistant wrestling coach at Ohio State and owner of a Master’s in educational leadership from California Polytechnic State University, will serve as one of the welcome speakers (8:30 a.m., Tom Davis Gym, RPAC). Joyce Beatty, Senior Vice President for Outreach and Engagement at Ohio State, also will speak to the LiFE group before the campers set out on a tour of the Ohio State campus.
Following a lunch break, participants will once again fan out across campus as they head to their selected academic sessions. Various stops include a tour of Ohio Stadium, OSU’s Don Scott Airport, the Wexner Center and colleges such as animal sciences, linguistics and exercise sciences.
More About LiFE Sports
In April, LiFE Sports was the recipient of a University Outreach and Excellence in Engagement Grant of $56,000 to aid in funding the program for the next two years.
LiFE Sports has emerged from the NYSP program Ohio State originally piloted in 1968. Government funding for NYSP was cut in 2006 and the number of national colleges and universities holding NYSP summer programs dropped dramatically from more than 200 to less than 30 in 2008.
Davis envisions LiFE Sports not only as a setting for continued summer learning, but a year-round enrichment program intended to utilize sport as a vehicle to teach important life skills that can be transferred to other contexts.
“This is a university program spearheaded by the Department of Athletics, the College of Social Work and Rec Sports to pursue providing a year-round program through a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Columbus,” Davis said.
As in the past with NYSP, LiFE Sports will continue to engage current and past Ohio State students and student-athletes as instructors, mentors and speakers each year. This year, former Ohio State running back Maurice Wells and current Buckeye softball home run record-holder Sam Marder are among the group of active participants in the camp.
List of Ohio State student-athletes participating in LiFE Sports in 2009:
Swimming
Anita Beck
Shelby Gordan
Michael Hulme
Robert Jenrow
Elliot Keefer
Jayson King
Benjamin Savonen
Mary Ann Wiser
Track and Field
Kelsey Kuzmic
Football
Jamie Wood
Maurice Wells
Soccer
Vanessa Spears
Softball
Brittany Goodchild
Samantha Marder
