BATON ROUGE — In another example of LSU student-athletes giving back to the community, offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski and defensive back Curtis Taylor spent time with the residents of the Jefferson Manor Nursing Home last Friday.
Dyakowski, a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll from Vancouver, Canada, and Taylor, a sophomore from Franklinton who sees action mainly on the special teams, attended an LSU Football party at the nursing home. Residents were treated to purple and gold balloons and lays while they played LSU music.
The residents, most of whom attended LSU football games when they were younger, are huge Tiger fans. Dyakowski and Taylor visited with the residents and signed posters, while the attendees ate donuts and drank coffee.
The visit was sponsored by the Shaquille O’Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills program. 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 at LSU honored one of the Tigers’ most memorable graduates, Shaquille O’Neal, by naming the program after him.