On Wednesday, April 7th, the Clarkson University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (S.A.A.C) had its first-ever installment of its new community outreach program entitled "CU Active!"

CU Active combines the themes of physical activity, nutrition, leadership, and teamwork while giving elementary students the opportunity to meet and learn from Clarkson student-athletes. Student-athletes from various varsity athletic programs

at Clarkson visited Canton Middle School to provide over 100 5th-grade students with an invaluable learning experience.

The 5th-grade students were split into 10 teams and each team started at a different station (soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, and relay/cross country). At each station, the students worked with a group of Clarkson student-athletes who gave the 5th-graders a chance to play a new sport. In addition to physical activity stations, there were also "rest stations" at which the children were exposed to nutritious snack foods and drinks. The 5th-graders were even given the chance to make posters representing their teams and create team cheers with the Clarkson athletes. At the end of the event, the 5th-graders presented their posters to all of the participants and enthusiastically performed their cheers for the teachers and peers. Overall, the event was a hugh success and both the elementary students and the Clarkson student-athletes thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

CU Active is an event that encourages and inspires elementary students to partake in an active and healthy lifestyle. Beginning next year, Clarkson's S.A.A.C. will being offering CU Active as a sustainable program at numerous schools across the county. In the future, S.A.A.C. plans on incorporating various clubs and groups on the Clarkson campus to add additional stations to the program that will further benefit the objectives of CU Active.

Photos by Dan Bisaccio