UIndy students give back
Students volunteer to help with Special Olympics
By Dan Friend
Managing Editor
UIndy student-volunteers offered spare hands to the Special Olympics bowling competition Nov. 10 at Expo Bowl near Beech Grove.
The event hosted 196 Special Olympics athletes, and according to Steve Sassaman, competition director for Indiana’s Area-Nine Special Olympics, volunteers were needed to help supervise the day of bowling. Sassaman organized the event and families traveled from as far away as Connersville and Lawrenceburg to participate.
Sassaman, a student at Ivy Tech Community College in Lawrenceburg, said Expo Bowl was the only bowling alley large enough to accommodate the number of athletes in this year’s competition. After the venue was chosen, he contacted the University of Indianapolis in search of volunteers.
According to senior English major Yen-Chun Chen, community service is part of her curriculum at UIndy. Chen is enrolled in a social problems course that requires students to record 24 hours of community service. Aside from volunteering for Special Olympics, Chen helped tear down a rundown house as part of a Circle K volunteer event.
Although junior nursing major Jaimie Burgett said she was not interested in specializing in the treatment of the intellectually disabled, she said the event was a chance to relate to different types of people and to complete community service hours as part of the requirement for living on the fourth floor of Central Hall, the honors students’ floor. Honors students are required to complete 10 hours of community service per year.
“I think it will help me with my nursing education,” Burgett said. “Learning how to deal with people with special needs, learning how to talk to people and learning how to treat them just the same as you would treat anyone else is important.”
According to Sassaman, the social and physical health of the athletes is important to Special Olympics competitions. Basketball, volleyball, swimming and horseback riding are among the other competitions held by Special Olympics, and he said that every event can use the support of volunteers.
“This is the generation that will be taking over and leading on, and community service has been pushed to and through high school and into college,” Sassaman said. “Everyone here is a volunteer, and this event couldn’t happen without them.”
