DePaul University Athletics
Field Trip Day, a Day to Remember
12/16/2013 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Dec. 16, 2013
CHICAGO - It was an eye-opening experience for Jaylin Hargrove on Monday was he watched the DePaul women's basketball team put on a show on Field Trip Day.
He shook his head and smiled while reflecting on the Blue Demons' 90-76 victory over Dartmouth at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
"I'm learning new plays just watching them on the court," said Hargrove, an eighth grader at Faraday Elementary School on the Near West Side. Some of the drills I see them doing in warm-ups---I'm going to tell my coach about them so we can do the same ones. I'd like our team to try and become as good as DePaul, or better."
Hargrove was among capacity crowd of school children attending the eighth annual Field Trip Day event which strives to provide a glimpse of the college experience to students primarily in the Chicago Public Schools system and inspire children from underprivileged communities to think about furthering their education.
Through the leadership of DePaul President Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider and Blue Demon Athletics Director Jean Lenti Ponsetto, the athletics department sent out 33 buses to provide round-trip transportation for schools citywide while also providing the students with free tickets and T-shirts to the game.
"As soon as I get to high school, I'm going to fill out an application for DePaul," said Faraday eighth grader Shania Harris. "I think it is so generous and fantastic of DePaul to do all of this. There are parents who don't have the money to take their kids to watch a basketball game, and everyone in here is really enjoying it.
"I am learning so much watching the Blue Demons. They are so exciting with tough defense and a great ball press. I can see myself as one of them because I love playing defense more than anything else.
"This is the first time I've ever seen a women's basketball game in person and I love it. It is inspiring me to be better."
DePaul community service administrator Dave Corzine is the athletic department's point person for Field Trip Day which has worked with 101 schools and more than 14,000 students in its eight-year history.
"None of this happens without the leadership of Father Dennis and Jeanne," Corzine said. "They are so instrumental in living up to the mission of St. Vincent de Paul and the ideals of service to the underprivileged.
"Our mission with this initiative is to expose school children to a college atmosphere and get them thinking about college being a part of their lives. Each year, I get overwhelming feedback from principals, teachers and kids about how this event opened their eyes to the possibility of going to college."
Faraday brought six busloads of students to McGrath-Phillips Arena while Portage Park and Bennett elementary schools filled up five buses. Other elementary schools that attended Monday's game included Jonathan Burr, Catalyst Maria Charter, Henry Clay, Helen C. Peirce, Hendricks, John T. McCutcheon, Jesse Sherwood, O. A. Thorp Scholastic Academy, Park Manor, George M. Pullman, John D. Shoop, Talcott Fine Arts and Museum Academy, Fernwood, Parker Community Academy and Oscar Mayer.
Athletic director James Francis and a contingent of 200 students walked over to the "Shout-fest on Sheffield" from Oscar Mayer.
"We've had scheduling conflicts in the past and this is the first time we've been able to attend," Francis said. "When we told the students about it last week, there was an overwhelming enthusiasm about it.
"Everyone at Oscar Mayer is grateful to DePaul and Dave Corzine for this opportunity. What a great inspiration this provides for the young students in our schools. As neighbors in the community, we are building a great relationship with DePaul. They are the mentors and we are the mentees."
The Blue Demons made quite an impression on Oscar Mayer sixth-grader Olivia Gork.
"The women's basketball players are really good," she said. "You can see how much determination and hard work it takes to play for DePaul. It's so much fun to experience all this.
"I've thought about going to college, and DePaul would be a good place to come. People here seem so enthusiastic, and everybody is so friendly and happy. It's so nice that DePaul brings so many school kids together for one college event."
Faraday teacher Taranika Sanders attended DePaul from 2000-04 and received her degree in education while Catalyst Maria teacher Valerie Goldstein played on the Blue Demon women's soccer team in 2000.
"It's so important for young girls to see something like this," Sanders said. "The DePaul student-athletes are like role models for them. They see that if you are dedicated and keep up with your academics that one day, this could be you."
