Anybody who has attended a Gonzaga basketball game knows the electric atmosphere that emanates from the students – one might even say that student involvement is at the soul of the GU experience. So it makes sense that spreading the word about student involvement with a dose of Gonzaga energy would have a positive impact in encouraging area high school students to stay in school and work toward going to college. That’s exactly what Gonzaga’s Sports One Unified Language (SOUL) program did recently at Rogers High School in Spokane.
Members of the Comprehensive Leadership Program (CLP), the Kennel Club and a number of other Gonzaga clubs and programs came together in November of 2014 to motivate students at Rogers through sports, dance and other activities. SOUL co-chairs Megan Morrell (’16) and Sharon Greer (’15) worked together to organize the event, including the formation of a committee of CLP students to secure donations for T-shirts.
A single anonymous donor was so moved by the message being presented by SOUL that she donated the full amount for shirts to be printed. With all of the approximately 200 participants from Gonzaga and Rogers wearing the black shirts, everyone in attendance not only felt the unification but could see it, too.
“I am still in complete and total awe over the entire thing,” said Morrell. “It had a really great response. The students loved it.”
The Gonzaga students involved with SOUL created a very special, handwritten card of thanks to send along with one of the shirts to the donor who so generously made that feeling of unification possible.
*Photo courtesy of Putter Tiatragul, Gonzaga Bulletin