July 24, 2002
What do athletics, academics, and culture have in common? They are all components of the first Complete College Experience, a one-day mentoring program solely created and designed by Kentucky football player Antonio Hall.
Hall, a junior offensive tackle from Canton, Ohio, created the program to give middle school-age students a chance to experience the benefits of college before they undergo the peer pressures and rigorous demands of high school. The mentoring program promotes the importance of continuing education and athletics, providing a glimpse of the real college experience.
“When I was in the eighth grade, I was a knucklehead sometimes,” Hall said. “But a teacher took interest in me and took me to a University of Pittsburgh football game. I knew after watching those guys that I wanted to be a student-athlete and I didn’t want to do anything in high school to mess that up.”
The goals of CCE are three-fold: expose middle-school students to college life not just in athletics but in academics and culture, inspire them to set goals to make the grade on and off the field throughout their high school careers, and provide a window to show the endless opportunities for them once they get to college.
“Antonio came to me and expressed his interest to get this started because of his experience when he was in middle school,” Lisa Buchanan, UK Outreach Coordinator said. “He wanted to give the kids the same opportunity that he had. He’s done an incredible job spearheading this program.”
Thirty local middle-school student-athletes will participate in the program on Saturday, July 27 on the UK campus, beginning with a tour of the Center For Academic and Tutorial Services. The tour also will take them to all athletic facilities and specific areas on campus such as the College of Engineering and the Singletary Arts Center. The students also will participate in team building simulations and rap sessions.
“It’s an honor that UK wants to work with our students and I applaud Antonio and thank him so much,” T.C. Johnson, the Youth Service Center Coordinator at Winburn Middle School said. “This program is so beneficial because a majority of our students have never been on a college campus. CCE will bring more of an awareness of the partnership between athletics and academics. The earlier we can allow these middle-school students to experience the opportunities of higher education it may motivate them to do better.”
Hall, a gifted opera singer, is majoring in music education at UK and plans to teach music to children following his playing career.
“Antonio has come over to our school several times and the kids enjoy talking to him. We call him the ‘gentle giant,'” Johnson said. “They ask him so many questions and what surprises them the most is when he talks about his classes and how one of the main reasons he chose Kentucky was for its music major. When they think of athletics they don’t think of the education part. Some of our student-athletes do well academically during their playing season and then ‘slack off’ when the season is over. CCE will hopefully change that way of thinking.”
Around 10 other UK student-athletes from various sports have joined in the effort with Hall to provide assistance during the day and answer questions about college athletics.
“Antonio has set the model for other college student-athletes to get involved and give back to the community,” Johnson said. “The more we can get our kids to partner with the community the better we, as a community, will be in the future.”
Hall hopes the program will continue to grow even after he graduates from UK.
“If it hadn’t have been for my experience as an eighth-grader, I’m not sure I would have been serious enough about high school to even make it to college,” Hall said. “When you have a goal to work toward it helps you stay focused. My goal was to become a college football player and study music and now I’m doing both. If CCE helps just one student achieve his or her goals, then it’s all worth it.”
Schedule of Events:
9:00 – Check-in at CATS (Center for Academic and Tutorial Services) located in Memorial Coliseum
9:30 – Welcome/Introduction
10:00 – Tour of CATS
10:30 – Tour of Memorial Coliseum
11:00 – Tour of Singletary Art Center
11:00 – Tour of the College of Engineering
12:30 – LUNCH
1:30 – Breakout to facilities of designated sports
2:30 – Team Building Activities – CATS
4:00 – Pictures with UK students/Wrap-up session
