BATON ROUGE – LSU had 17 student-athletes representing seven different Tiger programs participate in the National Education Association’s Read Across America Tuesday by visiting four schools in the Baton Rouge community.
The event is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss.
The Tigers got into the spirit by donning Dr. Seuss striped red and white “Cat in the Hat” attire to read to the children at the Dunham School as well as Bernard Terrace, LaSalle and Pecan Grove Elementary Schools.
Micah Gibbs, Matty Ott and Anthony Ranaudo along with assistant coach Javi Sanchez represented LSU’s top-ranked baseball program.
“One part of coming to LSU is the fact that there are kids that look up and aspire to Tigers one day,” Ott said. “It’s great that we have the time and opportunity to be role models for kids like that. It was great seeing how excited the kids were today. It brought a smile to my face to see how happy they were.”
LSU’s men’s tennis program sent six readers to Bernard Terrace Elementary, while men’s and women’s swimming and diving in addition to women’s golf, volleyball and track and field were involved in the NEA’s signature event.
“I’m not sure who had more fun, the kids or me,” tennis’ Neal Skupski said. “I enjoyed reading to them and seeing the smile on their faces. I’ve always loved volunteering and look forward to the next event.”
Launched in 1998, NEA’s Read Across America provides NEA members, parents, caregivers, and children the resources and activities they need to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year. The NEA’s goal is to build a nation of readers and focuses on motivating children to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.
Below is a complete list of readers and which school they attended:
Lauren DeGirolamo, Volleyball, Pecan Grove
Phillip Thomas, Track & Field, Pecan Grove
Kenny Ehrhardt, Track & Field, Bernard Terrace
Clint Hallum, Men’s Swimming, The Dunham School
Matthew Vieke, Men’s Swimming, The Dunham School
Neal Skupski, Men’s Tennis, Bernard Terrace
John Michaelis, Men’s Tennis, Bernard Terrace
Stefan Szacinski, Men’s Tennis, Bernard Terrace
Sebastian Carlsson, Men’s Tennis, Bernard Terrace
Dave Roberts, Men’s Tennis, Bernard Terrace
Steve Bacala, Men’s Tennis, Bernard Terrace
Kaelee Mader, Women’s Swimming, Bernard Terrace
Mary Michael Maggio, Women’s Golf, The Dunham School
Micah Gibbs, Baseball, The Dunham School
Anthony Ranaudo, Baseball, The Dunham School
Matty Ott, Baseball, LaSalle
Javi Sanchez, Baseball, LaSalle
Nicole Crochet, Women’s Golf, The Dunham School