Members of Catawba's Men's Basketball team are on a mission. They are hoping to get Rowan County elementary and middle school students to focus on reading, comprehension and good citizenship.
While Head Coach Rob Perron's goal is for members of his team to visit all middle and elementary schools in the county, he and his team are pursuing this goal one school at a time.
A recent visit took team members and Perron to Woodleaf Elementary School, after which Assistant Principal Nicole Hales shared, "The 5th graders talked about your boys all afternoon...I think your boys made a positive impact on our students!"
The Woodleaf Elementary students who met Perron and his players will be among 1,400 Rowan County School students who will come to Catawba's campus on Dec. 14 to attend a Catawba Men's Basketball game in Goodman Gymnasium.
"When they come to campus, they'll receive a bracelet that will let them in free to all home basketball games," Perron said. "They'll have a bag lunch in the gym and Catawba's Women's Basketball team and other volunteers on campus will provide abbreviated tours of our campus to include Ketner Hall, the Cannon Student Center, and our athletic facilities. This will give these students a sample of a day in the life of a college student and hopefully will inspire them to do well academically.
"A lot of these students have not been on our campus even though they're local and we're trying to give Catawba a greater presence with the youth in the county through our visits and these students attending games. We want to inspire them to aspire to go college."
