UAB athletes seek victory in both sports and community service
Avei Logoleo, Caitlin Calaghan and Fernandez West (Karim Shamshi-Basha/Alabama NewsCenter)
Watching the Olympics, one can’t help but admire the dedication and resilience these world-class athletes display.
In Birmingham, UAB athletes are displaying a dedication and resilience for more than their sport.
Basketball, track and field, volleyball and other sports may earn UAB Top 10 rankings and attract thousands of fans along with prestige and notoriety.
UAB athletes seek victory in both sports and community service from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
It’s UAB’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee that helps set and achieve goals for community involvement and become winners in areas outside sports.
In the past year:
- UAB student-athletes have performed 3,595 hours of community service so far this year for places like Children’s of Alabama, Lakeshore Foundation, Better Basics, Feed My Starving Children, Glen Iris Elementary, Habitat for Humanity, Hands On Birmingham, Muscular Dystrophy Association, VA Medical Center, Ronald McDonald House, Miracle League of Gardendale, Birmingham Zoo, United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, and more than 50 other community service organizations.
- UAB SAAC was ranked in the Top 10 among Division I institutions for community service.
- 58 student-athletes attended SAAC meetings.
- Average SAAC member GPA was 3.37.
Those numbers might as well be Olympic gold medals for Fernandez West, associate athletic director for student-athlete services at UAB.
“I’m very proud of our student-athletes and their involvement in the community and the city of Birmingham. They do a variety of service projects that propel them to be the best in their sports,” West said.
West’s department handles everything from student development to academic goals for the students to making sure they are on track to graduate. Other tasks include communicating with their coaches and providing resources such as mentors and tutors. The staff is dedicated to assisting, inspiring and motivating student-athletes.
“The student-athletes are very excited and are watching the Olympic events every day. They really get into the Olympics, and seeing their sport played on an international level reminds them why they do it,” he said. “It also brings attention to the athletic programs here. We hope that those who are interested in certain Olympic sports choose to come to UAB.”
Caitlin Callaghan, athletic academic counselor and SAAC coordinator, oversees the program that resulted in the standout statistics in 2015.
“None of these community service projects through our SAAC groups are mandatory, which is something we’re pretty proud of,” Callaghan said.
The community service projects assist organizations like the Conference USA Food Drive, ShoeGood shoe drive, One Love Foundation Escalation workshop, interview skills workshop, money management workshop, UAB Student-Athlete Career Fair and others.
“Every Monday and Tuesday evening, we send a group of student-athletes to Children’s of Alabama to do a wagon wash,” Callaghan said. “When appropriate, children at the hospital are given wagons to ride instead of wheelchairs. Our students-athletes go beyond and have decorated them in the past, and made them more comfortable.”
One of the students who has performed many hours in community service is Avei Logoleo, a junior in kinesiology and a member of the UAB beach volleyball team.
“Over at Children’s Hospital, we get to see the kids in an open environment,” she said. “I also love helping out at the Lakeshore Foundation. I get so much joy from helping others.”
UAB athletes are watching the Olympics and cheering their favorites. But Olympics come and go, and helping the Birmingham community through UAB SAAC is something that will endure.
Alabama Bright Lights captures the stories, through words, pictures and video, of some of our state’s brightest lights who are working to make Alabama an even better place to live, work and play. Award-winning photojournalist Karim Shamsi-Basha tells their inspiring stories. Email him comments, as well as suggestions on people to profile, at karimshamsibasha@gmail.com.
