Student Athlete for a Day

Seventh Annual “Be a Student Athlete for a Day” Event is a Success

Nearly 120 elementary school students got a few hours to experience the life of a college student-athlete, as they were paired up with various members of Northern Arizona athletic teams in the seventh annual “Be a Student Athlete for a Day” event. The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) was in charge of hosting the event.

Early in the morning, fifth and sixth-grade students at Kinsey and South Beaver Elementary Schools were paired with a NAU student-athlete. The elementary students then spent the morning going to NAU classes and touring campus facilities. Everyone gathered in the Walkup Skydome from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for lunch, games and a guest speaker.

After chowing down on pizza and snacks, the whole group gathered on the dome turf where Georgina Toth spoke. Toth is a former thrower for the track and field team who represented Hungary at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. She spoke about her experiences in school and at the Games, and the elementary students were given the chance to ask questions.

Volleyball student-athlete Emily Osiadacz, also co-President of SAAC, helped plan the day and tried to make sure it was a success. “I put together some activity packets and helped communicate with the schools. I wanted to make sure the kids had fun activities to do and that we had plenty of food.”

“For the student-athletes I think it kind of makes us go back to when we were that age,” said Osiadacz. “All these kids have potential (to be student-athletes) and we’re role models for them. And the kids will go home and tell their parents that they got to hang out with a football player or basketball player or whatever. We get to show them that it’s about more than just being good at sports. It’s also about being a good student and a good member of the community.”

Tyler Flake, a sixth-grader at Kinsey Elementary School, participated in the event for the first time. “I loved it. It was a lot of fun. I played some football and some kickball and ran up and down the stairs, all the way to the top (of the dome).” Flake also attended a science class with sophomore women’s tennis player Yumi Hasegawa, and said that overall the day was “a great experience.”

National Student-Athlete Day honors student-athletes and the network of parents, coaches, teachers and school systems who make it possible for young people to strike a balance between academic and athletic achievement.

The day, established by the National Consortium for Academics and Sports and Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, is co-sponsored by the NCAA and the National Federation of State and High School Associations (NFHS).