Jan. 25, 2007
Columbia, S.C. – A few times each season, the Gamecocks host a pre-game luncheon for some of their biggest fans. Only they are more than fans. Besides being season ticket holders, many of them are also mentors to the players as part of Carolina’s highly successful Mentors Program. Head Coach Susan Walvius is thrilled that her team has the opportunity to interact with professional businesswomen in and around Columbia.
“It would be difficult to find a group of people that are so successful who still give up their time when they don’t have it to give,” said Walvius. “They really genuinely care about the players and the staff, and they’ve grown to be really good friends.”
Ironically, the birth of the Mentoring Program can be traced back to the golf course and not the basketball court. Walvius and Liz Crum, an attorney with the McNair Law Firm, were matched up against each other by a mutual friend, Merrill Lynch financial advisor Jan Middlebrooks.
“Jan told me that she found someone that I could beat in golf,” said Crum. “She also told Susan that there was someone that she could beat in golf.”
Walvius and Crum seem to have forgotten who won the first of what has now become many rounds on the links, but they do remember discussing the need for a women’s support group.
“A lot of people graduate with a degree and do really well in school,” said Walvius. “But they can’t take it to the next level because they don’t know how or they don’t know anybody. We wanted to provide that for them.”
So, what started off as a program searching for mentors has now expanded into a vast networking group that is always picking up new participants. It covers a wide variety of fields, from lawyers and medical professionals to bankers and planners. Players are teamed up with several mentors based on their interests, and they are even given the chance to work or intern during the summer. For example, sophomore forward Demetress Adams and junior forward Lakesha Tolliver earned summer positions in the Supreme Court offices. (By the way, you can count Chief Justice Jean Toal as a long-standing mentor.)
“It has been a great experience,” said Adams, who hopes to attend law school. “Just seeing the impact that these ladies have makes me want to achieve so much.”
But, there’s more to it than future employment. The mentors always make themselves available to chat, whether it’s about basketball, school, or anything in between. These friendships that are formed last way beyond graduation. Crum says that’s what makes it so rewarding.
“It’s amazing to see these women when they come in,” she said. “You watch them work so hard and grow into responsible adults.” Crum and the rest of the mentors will also continue to watch the Gamecocks grow as a team. They have a designated cheering section behind the bench at home games. There are even plans to watch them play on the road as well. You can’t miss these fans, not only by how loud they are, but also by what they are wearing: official Carolina attire, which the team gave them for Christmas. Now that’s what I call “Women Helping Women Achieve.”
Fast Break Points
Milestone Marker: Senior guard Lauren Simms is just 23 points shy of becoming the 26th Gameock with 1,000 for her career. Not too far behind is fellow senior Iva Slivkovic, who currently stands at 918 career points.
Chance Encounter: It was a Heller reunion in Starkville, Miss., on Saturday. Purely by coincidence, my uncle (also from New York) was in town on business, and we met for dessert. Nobody believed him either.
