BATON ROUGE — LSU men’s tennis player Danny Bryan spoke to students at Bakerfield Elementary on Monday as part of the CHAMPS/ Life Skills Program.
LSU men’s golf team members Garrett Runion and Jarrod Barsamian joined Bryan. The group talked to second and third graders about the importance of remaining in school and staying drug free, in conjunction with the DARE- Just Say No Week campaign.
“It just feels good to try to help the community,” said Bryan. “All the guys on the team like to give back and let kids know the importance of staying in school and staying away from drugs.”
Bryan, a junior, is one half of the nation’s No. 27 ranked double team, along with partner Colt Gaston. The pair recently won the Rice Crown Plaza Invitational in Sept. and reached the finals of the ITA Southeast Regional Championships, in Oct.
Bryan is also a member of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee. SAAC serves as the governing body for LSU student athletes and sponsors community events such as the Halloween BOOzar, which will be held on Monday, Oct. 31.
The CHAMPS (Challenging Athletes Minds for Personal Success)/Life Skills Program was designed by the NCAA to help student-athletes realize higher academic achievement, increase likelihood of graduation and enter a chosen profession with a higher level of vision, knowledge, motivation, self-responsibility and greater overall success. In Spring 2003, the CHAMPS/Life Skills Program honored one of LSU’s most memorable graduates, Shaquille O’Neal, by naming the program after him.