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The Red and Black • Friday, November 16, 1990 • 3
" Tracy St«ib«rg/The Red and Black
Getting it off the glass
Doug Hoyen (left), sophomore, and Jeff Wehr, junior accounting
major, fight for rebound position Thursday at the Chi Psi house. The
two took a break from classes to play some basketball before
making the fast break to their respective homes for the Thanks
giving holidays. They won’t have to come back to court until Nov. 26.
Communiversity chair filled by caring senior
By SANDRA STEPHENS
Staff Writer
Melissa Weiss, a senior early
childhood education major, is not
spending her college career
thinking of herself.
Weiss, the chair of the campus
organization Communiversity,
wants to work with underprivi
leged children and wants them to
see they can make it.
“It may be a little harder, but
you can still do it," she said. “You
can do it if you set your mind to it.”
Weiss became a big sister in the
Communiversity Big Brother/Big
Sister program in 1987. She was
special events coordinator in 1988
and chair of Big Brother/Big Sister
in 1989.
Communiversity, a service orga
nization established in 1969, con
nects University students with the
Athens community through pro
grams such as Big Brother/Big
Sister, Adopt-A-Grandparent, Tu
toring, Recreational Sports, Out
reach and Teaching Assistants.
Weiss said the outings with vol
unteers give the children a break
and University students can teach
the children about the world.
‘They’re with us, their friends,”
she said.
Weiss said she doesn’t just sit
and watch the children play
games. She plays with them.
“A lot of people say I’m a big kid
because I line to play," she said.
She said during trips to the
movies or picnics, some of the chil
dren have said they’ve never been
to a movie theater or a lake.
College students wouldn’t think
of going to the lake or the movies as
a big deal, she said.
Even though she’s student tea
ching at Oglethorpe County El
ementary School, Weiss still finds
time to spend with her “little
sister" Shay Lawrence and “little
brother” Socory Jordan.
“I’ve always loved working with
children,” she said. “I’ve always
loved children.”
Weiss has been a big sister to 12-
year-old Socory for four years. At
the beginning, Socory had a neg
ative attitude. Now he has a more
positive attitude and he’s more ap
preciative, she said.
“I see him growing up a lot,” she
said, adding that Shay wants to go
to college.
‘They see more, therefore they
want more,” she said.
The children learn to accept
things that they wouldn’t origi
nally accept, and learn to work
with others, she said.
Weiss said Communiversity is
not only beneficial to students, the
children make new friends.
“Everybody’s getting something
out of it," she said.
Weiss, a 1987 graduate of Sequ
oyah High School, was a teacher’s
aid and a member of Kappa, a
service organization, International
Club, orchestra, and Junior and
Senior Beta Club.
"I love doing things with other
people,” Weiss said; “I love meeting
people.”
Weiss has combined studying
and community work with jobs at
K mart, the University Creamery,
dining halls and the Tate Student
Center equipment room.
"I’ve worked since I’ve been old
enough to work,” she said, adding
she manages her time better when
she’s busy.
Anthony Pellegrini, a professor
in the Early Childhood Education
Department, said Weiss is self-mo
tivated, a good student and kind to
children.
Weiss volunteered to babysit the
Pellegrini’s two-and-a-half year-
old son Adam spring quarter for
about 20 hours each week.
"He loved her,” Pellegrini said.
Weiss, from Atlanta, lived in Is
rael for 10 months, and didn’t
know anyone there.
“I went totally on my own,” she
said. “I’ve always wondered about
the culture,” she said.
Weiss said living in Israel
helped her avoid the homesickness
that many freshman experience.
“Without mom and dad and
friends, you grow up quick,” she
said.
In Israel, Weiss took classes and
tutored a young girl in English.
She also spent time with her
adopted family, which is originally
from the United States.
She spent the summer of 1990 as
a camp counselor at Camp Akiba in
the Pocono Mountains in Pennsyl
vania.
She was responsible for seven
children, ages nine and 10. She ac
companied them to camp activities,
made sure they ate well, were safe
and had fun, she said.
“It was like becoming a mom to
seven kids overnight," she said.
Weiss wants to travel across the
United States and other countries
before starting her teaching career.
She wants to return to Israel.
In her spare time, Weiss works
on a scrapbook and catches up on
writing letters to the children trom
camp Akiba and her adopted
‘It was like becoming a
mom to seven kids
overnight.’
—Melissa Weiss
Communiversity chair
family in Israel.
The scrapbook, which she
started during her trip to Israel,
has drawings by Socory.
Weiss said one day Socory found
a picture he’d drawn in the scrap
book and asked her who drew the
picture. Weiss told Socory he drew
the picture, but he denied it.
“It’s neat to look back,” Weiss
said.
Chris Long, a senior political sci
ence major and coordinator of Rec
reational Sports, said he has
worked with Weiss in Commu
niversity for about two years and
that she’s a good leader.
“I think we’re gonna have to find
some strong leadership when she
leaves because she has given so
much to the program," Long said.
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