Inviting hundreds of students to fill the bleachers and watch a live basketball game, Augusta University brought out fifth graders for Columbia County’s first ever education game day on Monday, Dec. 18.
As the Augusta Jaguars played against Reinhardt University, students from various Columbia County elementary schools danced and cheered in the stands of Christenberry Fieldhouse.
Although Richmond County schools have been attending education game days at AU for several years, head university basketball coach Dip Metress said this year served as the first time Columbia County students were also invited to join in on the fun.
“We started this thing 10 years ago with Richmond County … it’s a chance for fifth graders to go to a college campus,” he said. “Sometimes, especially in Richmond County, kids may never see a college campus.”
Amazed every time by kids’ reactions to the fieldhouse, who often “ooh” and “aah” upon entry, Metress said it is a community effort to arrange and prepare for the students’ arrival, but the possible future results make it all worth it in the end.
“This couldn’t work without Queensborough Bank sponsoring it and Columbia County schools being behind this,” he said. “This also hopefully gathers up more fans because they’re experiencing something here that they don’t experience anywhere else.”
After serving for 20 years as AU’s head basketball coach, Metress said he knows many of his players enjoy interacting with the younger students, and some even said it was their favorite annual event.
“[Players] absolutely get a lot out of it. They get fans in stands. Afterwards, they are signing autographs like rockstars,” he said. “They enjoy it because it gives them a chance to get some love from little kids.”
For Augusta native, AU senior and forward Timmy Sellers, who graduated from Glenn Hills High School, education day is all about giving back to his community through positive, memorable moments.
“This just gives them positive role models, and lets them see that they can aspire to be whoever they want to be,” said Sellers. “When I was in school, all I saw were people who were far away in college and out in the NBA. I didn’t know that locally I had people around me who were doing the things that I dreamed and aspired to do. It shows how attainable it really is.”
Sellers said it is his hope that at least one kid who attends the education game day sees himself or herself on the court in Sellers current position.
“I love it because I can see myself in them and see what I was like. I never got an education day because I graduated elementary school before they started it, but I know I would’ve loved to see it,” he said.
AU President Brooks Keel said the event not only allowed the university to promote an excitement for higher education, but also bolstered the university’s campus, community and basketball team.
“It’s important for these students to see themselves here at Augusta University,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to see big time college basketball and have a little fun, but more importantly we hope they see themselves as students here one day and cheering for their own team.”
Keel said he believes in capturing students’ attention and excitement early on to give them great memories of AU and hopefully make it their first choice for college later in life.
“I want them to see that AU is their university, so that connection is really important,” he said.
As T-shirts and stuffed animals were thrown to students in the stands and basketball players high-fived those in the front row, many fifth graders were seen smiling from ear-to-ear as AU continued to score points on the court.
“It’s a great opportunity for our students to experience the college atmosphere all together at one time,” said Columbia County Athletics Director Chris Hughes. “We never get a chance to have all of our fifth graders from all of our schools together, so just to see them excited about experiencing this at Augusta University is great.”
Throughout the game, the university also organized a variety of contests and games to keep students involved and entertained by rewarding winners with prizes. Games included musical chairs, trivia, basketball drills and more.
“A lot of them don’t ever see anything like this, so it shows them that we have all this in our own backyard,” Hughes said. “To see them engaged the way they are will hopefully inspire them to move on to secondary education.”
Hughes also said inspiring students prior to middle school allows everyone time to set themselves up for academic success to ensure a great chance of securing an acceptance to any college they apply to.
“Middle school is also some of the toughest years, so we want to get them engaged early,” he said.
During halftime, fifth graders were also treated to seeing the AU’s dance team perform and an appearance from Santa Claus, prior to the unveiling of a life-size statue of the university mascot – Augustus.
Pulling out all the stops for the attending elementary students, Keel announced that the statue would remain at the university’s fieldhouse and serve as an illustration for “Jaguar pride.”
“What I want each and every one of you to know is we want you to be a student here when you start looking for colleges,” said Keel to students in the stands. “You might think of yourself as a visitor today, but we hope you will think of yourself as a Jaguar one day when you start looking for colleges.”
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education, lifestyle and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
