Lehigh University Athletics
Excelling in the summer (and beyond)
10/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
For Kaloma Cardwell, leaving home for college just two days after high school graduation was not an enticing prospect. “I was not excited about leaving my home and friends early,” said Cardwell, now a junior political science major and captain of Lehigh’s football team, “But after the football coaches told me about the Summer Excel Program and all its benefits, I knew I could not pass up the opportunity to participate.” The Summer Excel Program, offered through the Office of Multicultural Affairs, is a six week residential pre-college experience for incoming multicultural Lehigh students that focuses on academic excellence through the development of leadership skills. The program also equips students with the tools to successfully navigate the Lehigh community, while they create lasting relationships with university faculty and staff. And Summer Excel students become grounded with skills and strategies that foster academic success, encourages them to think critically and thoughtfully, and promote cultural understanding and education. “Our program helps first year students to successfully navigate the Lehigh community from a multicultural perspective,” says Stephan Coggs, assistant dean of multicultural affairs. “It helps give them a head start on college.” Says Cardwell, “The Summer Excel Program is important to Lehigh, not just for familiarizing multicultural students to our campus, but also for the close friendships and foundations for success it provides.” Adds Pete Lembo, head football coach, “The Summer Excel Program is a great stepping stone to a successful four year experience at Lehigh.” Cardwell and other student athletes like Courtney Elder (football) and Racine Henry (Cross Country) were so inspired about their experience, that they chose to come back as counselors and help run the program. As counselors, all three have gained a new perspective of the program that they didn’t fully appreciate as first year students. “I didn’t want my Summer Excel experience to end after my first year,” says Henry, a sophomore arts and sciences major. “It was such a wonderful and memorable time for me that I wanted to re-create it for others.” Adds Elder, “It was a little weird to be a counselor this year when just last year I was in the first year students’ place. But I wanted to help give other multicultural students the things that I may not have had without this program.” The activities involved in being Summer Excel counselors, such as planning trips and workshops, and acting as mentors, have helped these athletes with skills for both on and off the playing field. “As an athlete, the program helped me pay more attention to details,” says Elders. “The lessons I have learned working together with the other counselors can also be applied to working in groups in class.” Elder’s and the other counselor’s efforts have clearly paid off. For instance, first year students Nicole Sanchez, Erik Smith and Bryan White have been socially and academically acclimated to the culture of Lehigh through the program and guidance of their mentors. “The Summer Excel program gives multicultural students like me a great opportunity to get ahead of the game and meet other students, both peers and upperclassmen,” says Sanchez, a first year chemistry major. Adds Smith, a first year arts and sciences major and point guard for Lehigh’s basketball team, “We learned so many lessons about being a college student during the six weeks of the program and I apply those lessons every day.” The benefits of participating in the Summer Excel Program have clearly been invaluable for both coaches and first year athletes. First year athletes learn time management, organizational and patience skills, and team building skills, all which help them to become stronger players well equipped to handle adversity. “The Summer Excel Program has taught me to work harder,” says Bryan White, a first year business major and small forward basketball player. “Not everything is fair in life and not everything is going to go your way, but that if you work hard, you can reach your goals.” And will these first year students follow in Kaloma Cardwell, Courtney Elder, and Racine Henry’s footsteps and become counselors themselves? “Absolutely,” says Sanchez. “Halfway through the program, I was already speaking to Dean Coggs about being a counselor next summer.” For more information on the Summer Excel program, or the other programs and services of the Multicultural Affairs Office, visit their website at: http://www.lehigh.edu/%7Einmca/index.html or call 610.758.5973. Story by Sarah Suh, University Relations
