Trojan athletes assist in surrounding community

While the USC student body was gearing up for the end of finals and heading home for winter break, more than 100 student-athletes spent Dec. 5 at 186th Street Elementary School in Gardena completing beautification projects around the campus. The trip was part of USC Athletics’ fifth annual Community Bowl.

This year the Trojans worked alongside the Wise Owls’ student body and mascot to make an impact on the campus and in the classroom.

In addition to the work the athletes did to improve the campus, each athlete was paired with an elementary school student from the beginning of the day to work alongside and to mentor.

The Trojan athletes were welcomed with a red carpet with students lined up on either side at the beginning of the day.

The athletes and their buddies completed 30 tasks over the course of the day. These tasks included digging and planting new gardens on campus, painting 10 murals across the school and revamping the school’s athletic facilities.

Nine women’s lacrosse players took part in the event, including junior attacker Michaela Michael who remembered what it was like to be an elementary school kid in the not-too-distant past during an interview with the athletics department.

“When I was little, seeing college athletes, especially from a school like USC, was so exciting,” Michael said. “Just talking to the kids, they think of us as celebrities. Getting to spend time with them is so special.”

In an interview with the USC athletics department, Principal Marcia Reed expressed her gratitude for the Trojans’ service.

“My students were so excited just to be a part of something like this,” Reed said. “This is one of those experiences that they will remember for a lifetime.”

In addition to the physical work that the athletes accomplished, they received the opportunity to speak with the students about the importance of education and staying in school. The athletes were able to work through a lesson plan with their students to teach them what college is like, what they have been learning and what their study habits are to promote higher education.

“Today was one of those experiences where the Trojans made us feel like we can conquer the world,” Reed told the athletics department. “The Wise Owls are going to soar. We want to make the Trojans proud.”

The Community Bowl is part of the Community Outreach Program, which is funded by The Otis Booth Community Outreach Endowment for USC Athletics. According to the athletics website, one of the main components of the Community Bowl is to “reinforce our athletes’ dedication to their community and its youngest members.”

The project is also supplemented by volunteers from the Trojan Athletic Parents Association who travel with the athletes to take part in their day at a local school.