Lehigh University Athletics
Fans deliver victory for McClennan
8/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Wrestling
While he hasn’t had the chance to make an impact on the wrestling mat for the nationally ranked Lehigh team, sophomore Justin McLennan is making a huge impact outside his sport in the lives of a group of children.
The local product from Easton, Pennsylvania is studying abroad this semester in Cusco, Peru, located about 400 miles from the nation’s capital of Lima. In Peru, McLennan has been teaching mathematics and computer skills to children at an orphanage. The resources he has had to work with have been extremely limited, as he lacks what most Americans would consider the bare essentials.
"Growing up in middle-class America and attending a school like Lehigh, I took for granted the basic necessities in a classroom, things that this orphanage is really lacking like pencils, paper, books," said McClennan.
Creative and ambitious, the materials science and engineering major at Lehigh, took it upon himself to try to improve the situation as best he could with what was available. "I managed to get a donation from a local travel agency of an old Compaq Presario computer and I was able to scrap together enough pencils and paper for the kids to practice math," he said. "But it was far from sufficient."
McClennan also noted that while he was astounded at what the classroom lacked, the 38 orphans had no idea that their classroom was lacking a thing. They saw nothing wrong with writing on already-used paper with pencils sharpened completely to a worn out eraser.
Inspired by the children, McClennan decided to contact Lehigh head coach Greg Strobel to ask for assistance from home. Coach Strobel turned to Denny Diehl ‘70, a Lehigh alum who pens a popular Lehigh wrestling newsletter, to get the word out to as many people as he could as quickly as possible.
Lehigh announced that it would accept donations of school supplies at its next home match, coincidentally a well-attended contest against rival Penn. News of the school’s plans traveled quickly via Diehl’s newsletter and word-of-mouth.
The response from the Lehigh wrestling faithful was incredible, especially considering that the donation effort was created and communicated in only 36 hours. Five box-loads of supplies, totaling over 400 lbs., were donated at the match, as well as cash donations and several corporate shipments to come. Lawrence White ’64 donated $2,000 to the cause and John Harmon ’59 added another $500, with total monetary donations approaching $3,000. Former Lehigh wrestlers Tom Sculley ’74 and Frank Eck ’56 committed to make corporate gifts from Brute Inc. and American Lubrication Equipment. Others elected to send donations directly to Peru or drop them off at the Lehigh wrestling office.
"Justin just started out by making a simple request to the coaches, to see if we had any extra office supplies," said head coach Greg Strobel, with yet another box of donated supplies sitting on his office floor. "The response has been overwhelming. I think it’s a great thing to be involved with. It speaks volumes to the generosity of the American people."
McClennan’s entire family is involved in the project and his parents, as well as one of his friends, will be making the trip to Cusco. They will bring some of the supplies with them to limit expensive international shipping costs, in hopes that the monetary contributions can go towards purchasing computers.
When he heard about the amount of support and the quick turnaround of contributions, McClennan was stunned. "I have been in awe as I read my incoming emails about the donation efforts," he said. "I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it and how much of a difference your contributions could make in the future. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."
