Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Student-Athletes Assist at Special Olympics
4/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Swimming and Diving
EVANSTON, Ill. - A group of 11 Northwestern student-athletes volunteered their time Saturday, April 12 to serve as assistants at the Illinois Special Olympics weightlifting competition at Maine East High School in Park Ridge.
The Wildcats served as judges and spotters for the competition while assisting with setup for the event.
"It was a fun event," Valerie Nubbe of the Northwestern women's swimming and diving team said. "There was a lot of enthusiasm from the NU athletes who helped out. We loved be able to help out a great organization like Special Olympics."
In addition to Nubbe, Northwestern student-athletes who volunteered their time efforts included Chad Hanaoka, Anthony Pierce-Adams, Malcolm Bowman, Dean Lowry, Deonte Gibson, J.B. Butler and Matthew Harris of the football team as well as Maya Jonas, Alex Cohen and Lydia Rohde of the women's basketball program.
"Having the NU athletes there was wonderful," said Jenn Murphy, the co-president of Northwestern to Benefit Special Olympics. "They always come ready to help and their attitudes are awesome, they high-five the Special Olympics athletes and they get just as excited about the athlete's successes as they would about friends they've had for a lifetime. We really couldn't have run this event without their ability to load the weights and their knowledge of how to spot, they helped us to be efficient and safe, two things that are vital to our events running smoothly."
For more information on the community service efforts of Northwestern Athletics, visit the 'Cats Give Back website.
