Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/781056
21 T he University of Iowa women's basketball team may be in the heart of the Big Ten season, but it found time to reach the hearts of Iowa City area elementary school students last month. Over the final two weeks on winter break, the Hawkeyes utilized their time outside the classroom to visit nine elementary schools and meet thousands of students across the Iowa City area. According to sophomore center Megan Gustafson, the response to their visits was overwhelming. "I spoke at two school assemblies," said Gustafson. "One was in the morning and one was in the aernoon, but the kids were as excited to see us both times. ey would scream and yell like crazy for us." e team divided up into groups of two or three to talk to various classrooms and school-wide assemblies. e topics of discussion included the importance of teamwork, respect, exercise, nutrition, and balancing work in the classroom with the demands of athletics. e Hawkeyes then opened up the floor for questions — a highlight of the visits for freshman Amanda Ollinger. "I loved the questions they asked," said Ollinger. "Sometimes they would be really goofy questions like 'do you like pizza?'en there would be really good ones like 'why did you decide to play basketball or why did you choose to go to Iowa?' You never knew what to expect and I enjoyed answering those." Aer some discussion, the team brought out basketballs and called on volunteers to compete in games like knockout and P-I-G, before giving high-fives and hugs to each student as they made their way back to class. "It's obvious that they look up to us," said Gustafson. "Some of them have been to a lot of games, and now we've had the chance to interact with and build relationships with them. We aren't just that person on the court anymore. ey can see us as everyday people now and look up to us on a more personal level. "Just seeing the look of excitement on their faces was satisfying. It's cool that we've been able to provide that for the kids." For Ollinger, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the team's impact on students hit home. "I didn't have anything like this when I was a kid," said Ollinger. "It's nice to be able to provide motivation for kids. I wish I had that. Now it feels good to know that I'm doing something that someone else looks up to me for. at's rewarding and you can't put into words how much it means." e Hawkeyes host four Big Ten games during the month of February, including matchups against Rutgers (Feb. 2), Michigan State (Feb. 9), Northwestern (Feb. 16), and Wisconsin (Feb. 26). FEBRUARY SCHEDULE Feb. 2 Rutgers Feb. 5 at Michigan Feb. 9 Michigan State Feb. 12 at Ohio State Feb. 16 Northwestern Feb. 19 at Purdue Feb. 22 at Indiana Feb. 26 Wisconsin