Department of Athletics Makes a Huge Splash with Launch of Stevens Duckling Program
HOBOKEN, N.J. (October 17, 2007) – On Wednesday, October 17, the Stevens Institute of Technology Department of Athletics formally launched the Stevens Duckling Program, which is a brand-new initiative that targets student-athlete involvement with the three primary schools – Wallace, Calabro and Connors – in Hoboken, N.J. Wednesday’s kickoff involved approximately 30 coaches and student-athletes from the women’s soccer and field hockey teams that were divided up amongst the four fourth-grade classes at Wallace.
In the coming weeks and months, the Stevens Duckling Program will begin to make in-roads at Calabro and Connors. There are currently 25 varsity sports at Stevens, and the goal of this outreach initiative is to have all the teams working with various classrooms at these schools. The Duckling Program is the brainchild of men’s volleyball junior John Dennan, who came up with the idea while attending a national conference sponsored by the NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills Program last summer.
Over the past few months, Dennan has worked closely with Assistant Athletic Director Brian Granata (Carlstadt, N.J.) as well as a dedicated student staff to put the program in place. The program’s primary focus is to teach children about college and its benefits as well as to impart a basic knowledge about engineering, business and science. Also, the program is designed so each teacher is given the opportunity to request a service that they would like the visiting team to help them with, whether it’s assisting students with their homework, reading to the class, giving a short presentation on teamwork or anything else.
Moving forward, members of the Stevens women’s soccer and field hockey teams will look to continue their involvement with Wallace as they develop a sort of mentorship program where various team members visit the school on a regular basis to work with the teachers and students. The department is also exploring opportunities with the Wallace after-school program.
“I can not even begin to express how pleased I am with today’s events,” Granata said. “The Stevens women’s soccer and field hockey teams should be commended for all the hard work and preparation that they put into making this so successful.
“In addition, John Dennan should be applauded for his endless determination in pulling the Stevens Duckling Program together. This was not a small task by any means. Furthermore, on behalf of the entire Department of Athletics, we would like to thank Principal Charles Tortorella and his staff at Wallace for opening their doors to Stevens and allowing us to be part of the students’ educational experience.”
Dennan was also very pleased with how the October 17 kickoff turned out.
“My expectations were fulfilled entirely,” Dennan said. “To see the smiles on the students’ faces and to see them wearing their Stevens gear at the end of the day was so rewarding. I am really looking forward to forging a great relationship with the schools in Hoboken, and I think we have something to build on.”
Those sentiments were echoed by Tortorella, who stated that “this was a very positive experience for the students in terms of career education and heightening their awareness to college education. It also provided an opportunity for the children to interact academically with someone other than the teacher.”
During their time at Wallace, the Stevens student-athletes met with children in the classes of Mrs. Vaughan, Mrs. Lucignano, Miss Reidy and Mr. Pasculli for over an hour. Each team was split up into two classrooms where they worked with approximately 20 children apiece. Following a brief welcome, each member of the team introduced themselves, highlighted their major and related it to something that the children could associate with. Both squads also took some time to discuss their team and to talk about their sport.
After a quick game/activity, the women’s soccer team turned the classroom back over to the teacher, who had a pre-designed lesson in place. At that point, the team members worked in small-group settings to help the children complete their assignments and better understand the work. The field hockey team took a slightly different approach as the Ducks put together their own quasi-engineering class. During this session, the players and coaches led the students into a discussion on the value and importance of engineering. The students were assigned a creative task of engineering useful products that were inspired by animals.
“I can’t say that I remember being introduced to the subject of engineering prior to college,” Head Field Hockey Coach Jessica Reed said. “I appreciate the opportunity that Wallace Primary School gave us to enter the classrooms and dialogue with the students about what engineering is and what engineers do.”
Several team members found the experience quite rewarding. In fact, junior Casey Scherck stated that “it was fun to see how much imagination the kids have. The future of Stevens can be found at that school.”
Sophomore Kara Borzillo went on to say that “it was great to see how excited the students were about Stevens Athletics and sports in general. Plus, it was nice to see how interested they were in our majors.”
Salme Cook, who is a junior on the women’s soccer team, also had a favorable response to the program.
“I really think that the kids responded well to our activities,” Cook said. “I was amazed at how many of them knew about Stevens and where it is. There were some really smart kids in our classroom, and we enjoyed mentoring them as a team. Our teacher really wants us to come back.”
Cook’s excitement was matched by that of Head Coach Jeff Parker, who was in attendance on Wednesday.
“It is always really important to take the time to give back to the community because that is a big part of our educational experience here at Stevens,” Parker said. “It was great to see some of our student-athletes in that mentor role as they helped the children with their projects. The best part of the day came right after the introductions though when, after only 10-15 minutes of knowing our team, one of the students said that they wanted to be a Stevens women’s soccer player when they grow up. How great is that?”
At the end of each session, the women’s soccer and field hockey teams wrapped up their programs by handing out a number of giveaways – T-shirts, Frisbees, lanyards, towels and backpacks – to the students. In addition, each student was given a Stevens folder that included an official Duckling certificate that they had signed by two players of their choice, a voucher for free admission to home sporting events, the team’s complete schedule and a letter to parents that detailed the team’s involvement at the school that day.
For more information on the Stevens Duckling Program, please contact Brian Granata at (201) 216-5078 or brian.granata@stevens.edu.
