UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State Athletics had 33 different student-athletics read books at 16 Mount Nittany Elementary School classrooms from April 10-17 as part of the Big Ten Conference's 2023 United as One Reading Week. Men's soccer, men's lacrosse, women's gymnastics, women and men's hockey, women's volleyball, field hockey, football and women's swimming and diving all participated in the community service event.
The United As One Reading Week initiative empowers student-athletes by providing the opportunity to serve youth though education and inspiring them to act as change agents in the community. In year three of this equality coalition, the themes for this reading week were courage, inclusion and belonging. Four books that fit these themes were read by each participating conference school: "Until Someone Listens" by Estela Juarez, "It's Okay to Ask!" by the experts at Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, "The Proudest Blue" by Ibtihaj Muhammad and "I Can Say No" by Jenny Simmons.
In addition to reading these books, the Penn State student athletes answered questions about themselves and had an open discussion on what the students thought about the books.
The United As One social justice campaign was launched by the league in 2020 and is among several conference-wide equality coalition initiatives dedicated to constructively and collectively recognizing and eliminating racism and hate in our society by creating resources for inclusion, empowerment and accountability.
