BATON ROUGE — Members of the nationally ranked LSU softball team participated in the “Read Across America” program on Monday afternoon at Bernard Terrace Elementary School as part of the Shaquille O’Neal CHAMPS/Life Skills program.
Shannon Stein and Dee Dee Henderson wore striped red and white “Cat in the Hat” attire and read to the children at the school. The NEA launched the “Read Across America” program in 1998. The nationwide reading celebration takes place each year on or around March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.
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.