Healthyheroes /Lindsey Schlegel
UB volleyball player shares her healthy choices with kids
As she searches through the plastic box for the proper game pieces, Lindsey Schlegel engages in conversation with the small group of kindergartners.
The University at Buffalo volleyball player is playing a rhyming game with the Highgate Heights Elementary School pupils.
As they find pieces that rhyme with “rain” and “hat,” Schlegel asks the 5-year-olds about their breakfasts.
“When I came in here this morning, I saw you guys had just finished your cereal,” Schlegel says. “Do you have breakfast every day?”
“Yes,” the group replies with an enthusiastic nod of their heads. “Do you always have cereal?” she follows up. Again a round of affirmative response.
“That’s what I had for breakfast, too,” Schlegel said. “You did!?” one of the children asks as more an affirmative acclimation than a question.
More of the same responses come when Schlegel asks them about what they like to do for fun and what sports they like to play.
It’s a routine part of the interaction she has with elementary school kids during her community outreach activities.
Along with taking care of her own athletic and academic careers, Schlegel, a Lancaster native, enjoys sharing her foundations in healthy living with elementary school kids around Western New York. That’s why she is the first in a series of profiles we’ll be doing monthly on people making an impact on others with their lifestyle choices.
While most University at Buffalo student-athletes are involved in a community service program, Schlegel is one of the most active, according to school officials. She helps organize a variety of projects involving thinks like school visits and body image workshops.
“She really is passionate and dedicated to what she does,” said Sharon Sanford, the assistant athletic director for community relations at UB. “When she interacts with the kids, she lights up with them. You can see she really cares about the development. She leads by example for sure, not only in the community but with her team as well.
“She’s the first one at practice. She will push her teammates to practice hard and pull up the ones who are struggling. It’s the same thing when she’s in the classroom with the kids.”
A business management major who receives dean’s list honors, Schlegel has always been involved in working with kids, dating back to her high school days of working summer sports camps.
Getting involved with the programs at UB was merely an extension of what she already enjoyed—interacting with kids and being able to share some of her healthy living knowledge. Whether the program is specifically involving exercise, such as the “UB a Fit Kid” program, or more academic based, she loves the chance to make a positive impact.
“I’ve always been active with kids and have done a lot of camps over the summer,” Schlegel said. “Looking back, I always tended to have the younger groups. I just enjoy the kids. They make me laugh.
A standout volleyball player for Lancaster, Schlegel had to learn how to adjust to maintain a healthy lifestyle once she became a college athlete.
“I just felt I needed to be more aware of it. I needed to think about it more,” Schlegel said. Schlegel remembers always having a consistent bed time and family meals when she was younger. In college there’s a new freedom of choice, and she had to learn to negotiate the ins and outs of life at UB.
“At UB, we do a lot of stuff inner city, and I do not come from the inner city. It lets you see the differences in how people grow up and makes me grateful for the opportunities I had that these kids don’t have,” she said. “I want to take my time and help them as much as I can because I was helped a lot and opportunities growing up.
“I think these programs are really cool for these kids.”
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