Athlete Mentor Program Invites May Street School over for Field Day

WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's Athlete Mentor Program (AMP) invited their May Street School pen-pal friends over for a meet-and-greet last week to wrap up the 2016-17 school year with a field day inside the Wellness Center.

Back in the fall, Worcester State's AMP setup a pen-pal exchange with the students of the May Street School, and it wasn't until last week that the pen-pals were able to meet each other and interact.

Two students commented on their pen-pals and said they loved meeting them. "I liked my pen-pal," said Soraya. "She was funny, nice and pretty!"

"This day is an exciting day for the pen pals and mentors," stated Coordinator of Student-Athlete Support Services, Kelly Downs.  "They write to each other every month about hobbies, likes and dislikes, school, sports, etc. so they were able to hang out for a couple of hours and do some of those things together."

The children and the AMP members took part in fun games such as football, kickball, soccer, and basketball. Worcester State's mascot, Chandler H. Lancer, made an appearance and entertained the kids as he joined in on the kickball game.

"Today was a fun experience," commented Worcester State tri-sport athlete and AMP member, Sam Weeks.  "Seeing all the little kids just running around not having a care in the world just having fun was awesome."

May Street school teacher, Trish Riley, commented on the student-athletes being strong role models and great mentors for the children. "The student athlete mentor program has been a wonderful asset to our school and our children and we can't thank them enough for their wonderful support."

Worcester State's AMP will continue the tradition next year and do the same pen pal exchange with another group of 4^th graders at the May Street School. "Our mentors will get new pen pals next year but we encourage the old pen-pals to stay in touch," added Downs.