4.

Summarize your proposed experiential learning activity, including the primary focus of your
activity, your intended actions, and the expectations of your supervisor and/or
organization/partners.

The proposed activity for my service project is volunteer coaching a high

school cross country team. In doing so, I will be offering support to both the
athletes and the coaching staff. My primary focus will be on strengthening
athletes both mentally and physically in preparation for each race. Crosscountry is a very mental sport, and this is where I believe I have the most to
offer my team, as I am a very mentally tough person. Another focus of mine
is to help the competitive experience of each athlete be as positive as
possible. This is particularly important to me because my experience was so
negative, particularly in regards to coaching. By attending two practices a
week as well as races, I believe I can make a positive impact. My supervisor,
head coach James Batey, expects me to encourage good sportsmanship
while strengthening athletes physically and mentally.
1. Intended actions
a. Attend two practices a week as well as races
2. Expectations of supervisor or organization
a. Positive leadership and an ability to strengthen athletes
physically and mentally
5. Explain how your activity demonstrates the values of the Honors Program Experiential Learning
area you selected. Rather than reiterating our definition, outline how your activity embodies this
definition.

My activity, coaching cross-country, demonstrates the values of the Service

area because it is an activity that allows me to teach my passion, running,
and by doing so allows me to make a long-term difference in the lives of
young athletes. In high school, the first person who believed in me and
pushed me to be better rather than staying in my comfort zone was my cross
country coach. Ideally, I would be doing the same for the athletes under my
care while teaching them how to be positive, competitive runners. By
volunteering for this team, I would be continuing to engage with the same
program at the same school I attended for high school. By continuing to
participate with the team in a different capacity, I would truly be giving back
to the place that has made me the woman I am and taught me so much
about myself.
1. Engages both with the organization and with the issues addressed
a. Engages with the school and also with the athletic development
of the students
b. Sustained participation in a program I participated in myself in
high school
2.
6. How and why did you select this engagement? What skills or experiences do you hope to gain
from it?

This summer, I was running when I stumbled across a familiar group- my

high school cross-country team, including my brother. The coach asked me if
Id be interested in assistant coaching. I was hesitant at first because of the
time commitment but realized that it would not be anything too unfamiliar.
During my senior cross-country season, I had been on the team longer than
either of the actual coaches and was thus vastly more familiar with the ins
and outs of the team than they were. From this experience I hope to gain a
better appreciation for the logistic challenges of being a coach, and also to
feel that I made a positive impact on the athletes. My first coach in high
school did that for me, and I hope to do the same for others.
1. In high school I participated
a. Cross country was my life
b. I love it deeply
2. My experience
a. When I was in high school, a cross country coach was the first
person who really believed in me
i. Even before anyone else did, before I did
b. Later, he was found to be guilty of a sex crime against me
i. Changed the way I saw what coaches do
ii. The impact they can have on people
iii. Strengthen people but have the power to be devastatin
1. How you use it
2.
7. How does this activity connect to your concurrent or past coursework? How does it speak to
your broader education goals and experiences?\

I suppose that this activity connects to my coursework indirectly but on a very deep level. In high school,
my entire life revolved around cross country. My coach was probably the strongest male role model I had
outside of my family, and he made me feel valued and connected to something greater than myself: my
team. However, in my junior year, I discovered that my coach had been secretly filming the female
members of my team as we changed, myself more than anyone else. This discovery changed me as a
person and did hurt, but the experience combined with exposure to how the legal system functions in
criminal cases fostered a love of law in me that I hope to one-day turn into a career in prosecution.

1. Connect to coursework:
a. Not so much
b. Extremely important to me however
2. Goal: help teach female athletes to value themselves
a. Most important part of my education in high school, and continuing on into my
life
i. Taking care of the body takes care of the mind
8. How will your activity contribute to the larger goals of the organization/your partners?

The goal of the athletic program of the school Ill be volunteering for is to introduce students to a
healthy lifestyle while also creating competitive athletes. As a volunteer coach, I would be
instrumental in both of these pursuits. As I se it, Ive done a good job of transitioning from a

competitively athletic high school experience to a healthy college lifestyle, although Im no

longer training as a part of a competitive team. Because of this, I have a lot of advice and pose a
good example for seniors preparing to leave for college. I also have four years of experience with
being a very competitive cross-country runner. In a sport where so much of the competition is
mental, coaches with good racing experience are essential.
1. Goal of the school for sports: do well
a. Expand athletes knowledge of how sportsmanship works
i. Also to compete and to win