BALTIMORE, Md. – Dr. Irving Smith beamed with pride when he met the grandparents of one of the University of Arizona student-athletes during the Coppin State volleyball team’s recent road trip to Tucson.
“Hearing the accolades that they shared about our team and coaches, not just as athletes, but as young ladies was truly inspiring,” Smith said. “It was nice that others had witnessed our highest values being reinforced by our coaches, and our players responding in kind. From the very outset, we all knew that faculty mentors traveling with the teams would be a most unique and innovative aspect of the overall mentoring program.”
Smith along with Nicholas Eugene, Associate Professor/STEM Program, accompanied the Eagles out west as part of the Coppin State faculty mentor program. For Smith and Eugene the weekend trip to Arizona was a meaningful experience for them as well an enriching one.
In addition to providing academic support, they were able to observe the student-athletes in their environment, which was beneficial to them. As part of Coppin State’s Accelerating Academic Success Program, faculty members and academic advisors routinely travel with each of the Eagles’ 14 teams during lengthy road trips.
Faculty travel is made possible by the grant funds that Coppin State receives from the NCAA as part of the AASP. In addition, the University of Arizona covered a majority of the expenses for the volleyball team to be able to compete in the Wildcats’ tournament.
“It’s very important anytime that you can get students to interact with faculty,” Eugene said. “For student-athletes, it becomes more important given the fact that they miss quite a bit of classes during their competitive season. As a former student-athlete, I remembered the days when we had to travel to track meets, but this trip to Arizona added a different dimension with the different time zone.”
In between playing three matches within a 24-hour period, spending time with family members and fans, dining out and patiently navigating airport security checkpoints, the volleyball team had study hall in which Smith and Eugene served as a resource for the student-athletes. They assisted student-athletes with the completion of assignments, provided study support and guidance.
The student-athletes were appreciative for the added support.
“We all had a lot of to work to do especially with courses we needed the most help with,” junior setter Chelsee Sauni said. “They were really helpful. I remember (junior outside hitter) Cindy (Okpegbue) sitting in the airport doing work. She was doing some statistics work and was able to turn to the faculty mentors for assistance. We’re happy to have them with us because it gives them perspective and see what we go through. It’s also nice to know that we have support there when we need it.”
With the faculty fully invested, it’s not surprising that Coppin State’s student-athletes enjoyed a collective GPA of 3.0 or above for the 12th consecutive semester. Overall, 64 percent of Coppin State’s student-athletes had a 3.0 or above in the spring semester. Nine student-athletes had 4.0 GPA’s. Three of them (Kendra Ireigbe, Kandace Thomas and Okpegbue) are members of the volleyball team.
“I like having the faculty on the road with us because it gives us more people on campus who we can go to for academic advice,” junior middle blocker Denali Sturegon said. “Plus it’s great to see them involved and support us as student-athletes. Having them with us in Arizona helped us a lot.”