BATON ROUGE — Darry Beckwith‘s travels as part of the LSU football team has taken him to cities all across the South, the White House to meet President Bush and to New Orleans to participate in the BCS National Championship Game.
However, Beckwith will tell you that some of the best trips that he’s made as part of the LSU football team don’t involve leaving the city limits. They are those trips to local junior high and high schools to spread motivating words to youngsters in the Baton Rouge community.
Most recently, Beckwith, a senior who is the starting middle linebacker for the Tigers, spent an hour on Wednesday at Episcopal High School, speaking to the 11th and 12th graders.
Among the topics of conversation between Beckwith and the student body was that of leadership, setting goals and achieving what you set out to do and fighting back from adversity. Following his presentation, Beckwith spent 30 minutes answering questions from the student body.
“I think it’s a great way to give back to the community,” Beckwith said of his time talking with the high school students on Wednesday. “With Baton Rouge being my hometown, I know how it feels to have someone you look up to come back and talk to you. When I was younger, if a guy from LSU that I looked up to came back and talked to me, I’d get a lot from it. I want to share my experience with that to help them pursue their career.”
Beckwith said that his interaction in the Baton Rouge community makes him realize just how fortunate he is to be a football player at LSU.
“It really makes you thankful for the opportunity that you have,” Beckwith said. “It is a blessing to be in this position. It could easily be taken away. If a kid asked for an autograph, you don’t want to be hesitant to give an autograph or take a picture with someone because it makes you think how far you have come. It could easily be taken away and I don’t take these moments for granted at all.”
Beckwith’s participation within the community is a part of the big picture outlook that LSU coach Les Miles tries to instill in his players. There’s rarely a week that goes by that a member of the LSU football team isn’t out participating in some type of community service related activity.
“When you are a member of the LSU football team, or any LSU team for that matter, you are in a position to make a difference,” Miles said. “Community service is part of our football program. We want our players to be involved and to participate in the community. I think their participation is a win-win situation for everyone involved. I think the best way to lead is by example and by going out and being involved in the community; I think it inspires other to do so as well.”
Jade Jenkins, who helps run the LSU CHAMPS Life Skills program, is responsible for setting up community service activities for the LSU student-athletes. She has seen first-hand the impact that the LSU student-athletes are making on young people in the community. .
“We hear all the time what a difference it makes,” Jenkins said. “We had a group that went to the hospital the other day and we got e-mails back from the parents (of the children). We get teachers and students calling or writing us thanking us for having someone come out to some event and what a difference that it makes, how it just really gets the attention of the young people when other people couldn’t get their attention.
“I think it does make a difference. A lot of people are rooting for LSU and the athletes there. Anytime someone has the chance to go back to a school or be a part of an event, it really is great and catches the attention of those involved.”