Service. It is one of the core values at the University of the Incarnate Word. The act of putting someone, or something, ahead of yourself is central to the legacy of UIW founders, the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. And while service plays a big role in the lives of every student attending UIW, you might say it is innate in the student-athletes who live out the idea of putting others before self in every workout, in every practice and in every game.
 
"Student-athletes in general are leaders, but what we try to do here at UIW is to help them become servant leaders, so leading through service," says UIW Life Skills Coordinator Mandy Pulido. "UIW seeks to expand student-athletes' views of themselves and the world, while building empathy, independence, resilience, humility, and understanding, through unique and impactful service opportunities."
 
Throughout the year, the 500-plus student-athletes that make up the 23 teams at UIW participate in service projects all around San Antonio and in the surrounding community. Many of those projects are coordinated through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Life Skills Department, along with the Ettling Center for Civic Leadership and Sustainability on campus.
 
The committee primarily focuses its efforts in civic and community engagement, as well as children in youth services. This is evident in the more than 4,000 hours served over the past academic year in those two categories alone. Serving is not only good for the community; it is also a way to teach student-athletes how to become the right kind of leaders.


 
"I always believe that whenever you receive a good blessing, you should pass that on and not to keep it to yourself," says SAAC Community Service Chair Ese Akpoyoware, a member of the track & field team.
 
"When you're a student-athlete, you're part of a team, you are part of something bigger than yourself," says Akpoyoware. "When you apply that to the community and to the environment around you, you are able to realize that we can't be selfish. That we have an obligation as a decent human being to spread whatever knowledge or whatever we have to offer to the community and people around us."
 
This year alone, UIW student-athletes collectively had already completed 5,365 hours of community service leading up to spring break. An accomplishment that was on pace to break the program record for service hours in an academic year. That all changed in mid-March due to COVID-19. All the isolation and social distancing measures that followed, made service to others difficult, but not impossible. SAAC is now working with the Ettling Center to come up with new ways for student-athletes to continue serving the community.
 
"In the fall, SAAC voted to adopt classrooms at a local Title I elementary school, Martin Luther King Academy," says Pulido. "They coordinated days in February, March and April. The first visit was in February. Now that we are under quarantine, UIW is finding other ways to help MLK Academy, and the teachers and school are excited to receive the online learning materials being created by our student-athletes."
 
SAAC and the Ettling Center came up with an initiative to continue helping the school through the form of videos of the student-athletes: "Storytime with Red" and "Workout with Red". Student-athletes film themselves in their homes either reading a children's book or doing an instructional workout video to be sent to the school.


 
"[Pulido] sent us all an instruction email with different exercise blocks which included stretching, legs and abs among other things," says junior Madi Henry who is a member of the cross country and track & field teams. "I did the stretching one and the leg one, but I also added a few track exercises with strides so they could get outside and be active."
 
Marissa Watters, the SAAC president and a sophomore on the swimming and diving team, also submitted a video. Hers included a full body workout as well as some pool exercises.
 
"Even though not everybody has a pool, they can still practice on how to become a great swimmer," says Watters. "Really, the videos are to get the elementary school students active and engaged and knowing that they're still able to do things even though life seems very limited right now."
 
Still, the students decided that they want to do more for the community. One additional initiative involves raising money for the Thrive Youth Center, an LGBTQ homeless shelter, as well as the San Antonio Food bank.
 
Both organizations have been helping people in need during these rough times. The shelter has been providing a safe place for people and creating a space of inclusion, while the food bank has been supplying food for those in need, a critically important service as many have lost jobs and are struggling during the pandemic.


 
"I didn't do a lot of community service in high school," says Henry. "I really started doing it once I came to UIW. I didn't realize how much I liked it, especially working with the kids.
 
"[Service] puts into perspective that helping other people, rather than just focusing on yourself, is important. Sometimes we get caught up in ourselves, in our sport and school, so it helps us do something for the community to help other people."
 
As SAAC heads into the summer and the uncertainty that still lies ahead, there are projects that are on hold, like the organization's annual Habitat for Humanity event. But UIW and its student-athletes stand firm that they will figure out how to be of service to the San Antonio community in today's unprecedented times.
 
"The times have made me realize the different opportunities I had never considered," says Watters. "In the past, I'd considered volunteering as the stuff that you did in person; I never considered that we can still make a difference online. There are still different things we can do that I haven't yet considered, but this is opening my mind to new horizons that we can implement. Despite where life is, you can still make a difference, no matter where you are."
 
HOW TO GET INVOLVED
To donate to either of the organizations mentioned above click on the links below.
 
Thrive Youth Center Fundraiser: https://bit.ly/2xnPgpA
SAFB Fundraiser: https://my.safoodbank.org/uiwathletics