Princeton University Athletics
Syska & Hennessy
August 01, 2000 | General
While some Princeton students use Friday mornings as an opportunity to sleep late, a group of student-athletes are up early, volunteering their time in the local community. Every Friday morning a number of Princeton athletes, from a mixture of teams, travel to north Trenton to spend some time with a special group of children. Whether it is building a house out of blocks, playing a game of tag or simply reading a story, Princeton student-athletes are there to be special friends to children who desperately need it.
This bonding of student and child takes place at The Millhill Child and Family Development Center. Millhill is self-described as "an organization dedicated to the creation of a community for families who have difficulty coping with poverty and the problems existing in the urban centers of Mercer County." Millhill specifically provides for the treatment of families in which children, from infancy through preschool age, have been neglected or abused.
There is a continual effort by Millhill's executive director Steven Rosen to get male athletes involved. "A lot of the children need positive male role models," says Rosen. "The interaction they have with the Princeton student-athletes gives them that chance. These athletes come and they are so big physically, but they are so nice, so kind and so gentle. The children get a chance to see grownups that relate to them in a loving, positive way. It is a great experience for our children."
It's also great experience for the volunteers. "As a student-athlete, and a representative of Princeton University, I wanted to go not only as a role model for the kids," says men's tennis player John Portlock, "but also to show the people that work there and the people of the community that members of the University care."
Princeton's student-athletes can see tangible results. "Making an impact was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, and it can be as simple as letting a child wear your watch," says Portlock. "When you go back the next week they remember you, they remember that you let them wear your watch, and they look forward to your visit."
Princeton student-athletes came upon this opportunity through Syska & Hennessy, a Princeton-based electrical engineering company that is committed to the success of Princeton Athletics and its student-athletes. "It is a win-win situation for all who are involved," says Carole Nicolini, associate partner at Syska & Hennessy and long-time Board of Trustees member at Millhill.
"For the children, you just don't know when you are going to touch their lives," says Nicolini. "And for the student-athlete, I believe it is the glue that holds their educational experience together. You can have your courses and your academic knowledge, but it is real life experiences, like their time at Millhill, that hold it all together."
by Kedi Finkbeiner