IN THIS WEEK'S ISSUE - MARCH, 28, 2008 TWO STUDENT-ATHLETES SHOW VERSATILITY AND HELP IMPROVE THE CLARK COMMUNITY

RODERIGUE NAMED TO D3HOOPS.COM ALL-REGION TEAM

COUGAR OF THE WEEK

WINNERS IN THE POOL AND ON THE FIELD, TWO STUDENT-ATHLETES SHOW VERSATILITY AND HELP IMPROVE THE CLARK COMMUNITY

Senior student-athletes Caitlin Hanson, a swimmer, and Deena Zakim, a women’s soccer player, just had a huge win outside of the sports arena. This year, Clark’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship program hosted their first annual “Big Idea contest,” where Hanson and Zakim, along with their fellow senior teammate for the project, Erin Burns-Maine, took home the prize of 5,000 dollars to start up their very own initiative to improve Clark and the surrounding Worcester community.

The group, whose project is titled: “You are Here: Finding the Main South Resident in Every Clark Student,” went up against three other teams in the final round of this contest before capturing the winning title. “We began this project in Laurie Ross' Theories of Community Development course in the fall of 2007,” says Hanson. “We started with a blank slate and brainstormed about the types of programs we could create that would effectively address the problem we identified as this unnecessary and destructive divide between the Clark and Main South communities,” Zakim added.

The main focus of this project will be to close the gap between Clark and the Main South community and in turn, boost the local economy in the Main South area. “As students at Clark, we have leverage within the Clark community, as well as our own personal familiarity with the surrounding neighborhood. We decided to work from what we know in order to draft a plan for change,” says Hanson.

The group plans on setting up a series of different events as well as creating a number of tools that will help them carry out their “Big Idea,” including maps of local “hot spots” which will be distributed to Clark students. They are also setting up an Internet database that will allow students to give reviews of local restaurants and entertainment spots. In addition, they have teamed up with the Difficult Dialogues program at Clark and are working on a plan to implement during “Week One” to educate incoming freshmen about the positive aspects of the Main South community.

Much of the money will go to the logistics of organizing these programs, such as designing a student survey, designing and printing a map, running focus groups and re-designing the website.

“Receiving this grant shows that the university has faith in its students’ ability to make a difference. We have the will and the creativity, and the university has given us the means to make this project a reality,” says Zakim.

“Being an athlete has taught me about discipline, persistence and determination,” says Hanson. Zakim shares the same sentiment noting, “Athletics have taught me a great deal about commitment. In order to do anything successfully, whether it’s stealing the ball on the soccer field or successfully executing a community project, you must work hard and be devoted to your goals.”

By Sarah Hunsucker, Sports Information Intern

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RODERIGUE NAMED TO D3HOOPS.COM ALL-REGION TEAM

Clark University’s Sarah Roderigue was named to the D3hoops.com All-Northeast region second team, it was announced on Wednesday. It marks her first All-Northeast selection.

Originally from Oakland, Me., Roderigue led Clark in scoring (17.5 ppg) and rebounds (8.0 rpg) and ranked atop the league in points per game with 18.5 this season. The junior forward made her mark in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) finishing second in three-point field goals made (2.15), seventh in free-throw percentage (.602), ninth in three-point field goal percentage (3.48) and 12th in rebounds per game (7.1). She posted four double-doubles and racked up 22 double-figure scoring games this winter. Roderigue capped her year with an All-NEWMAC first-team nod.

Clark ended the 2007-08 campaign with an 8-17 overall mark and 4-9 in league play (7th).

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Previous Cougar of the Week

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The highlights for this newsletter are provided by
Dalya Qualls, Sports Information Director, 508-793-7164
Email: dqualls@clarku.edu