Every fall semester, several Fairfield University student-athletes volunteer to read in 10 classrooms in the Bridgeport area ranging in grades from kindergarten to third grade. Four to five times in the fall, the students travel to schools such as Bryant, Cesar Batalla School, Black Rock School, and Dunbar. Each academic year, Breanne Morschauser, the Read-A-Loud Coordinator, works closely with the School Volunteer Association (SVA) in order to organize the schools. The SVA gives student-athletes books to read which are then donated to the classrooms. “The student-athletes always enjoy visiting the classrooms in Bridgeport, not only the reading, but going beyond and talking about the importance of college and what it means to be a student-athlete,” explains Morschauser. “On the other side of it, the student-athletes love going to the classrooms to read. Once they go, the athletes want to continue each time we offer the opportunity.”
