When Vicki Lautsch's (BS07) girls flag football team takes to the field next season, they'll have a brand new look thanks to a $5,000 grant from Nike's Let Me Play fund. Lautsch won the grant to support female athletes at Don Mensendick School in Glendale, Arizona, where she teaches sixth grade. Lautsch, who teaches with Teach for America, hopes her success will inspire other alumni to get involved in their communities. She sought the grant because she felt the girls at her school were at a disadvantage trying to play a male-dominated sport and lacked equipment to compete at their level. She and fellow coach Adam Silver wrote in their grant application, "We can make these girls realize that they are athletes, that football can be played by women, and that they are part of a real team."
"I was inspired to apply because I saw that the girls didn't come to practice with cleats or a football in their hands," says Lautsch. "I realized that these girls could use something to level the playing field and show them that they too could play football." She wanted to be able to develop a team that would spark pride in the community
Let Me Play is Nike's signature community effort, which makes awards to give excluded youths access to sports as a way to build valuable skills. Mensendick School will be using the Nike grant to outfit its girls' football team with uniforms, footballs, cleats, duffel bags and water bottles in the years to come.
Lautsch's reaction to receiving the grant was a combination of joy and surprise. Although applying for the grant was a long process, she says, "I am very happy that the girls will directly benefit from something I did for them. It's a great feeling, being a national grant winner."
In her role as a teacher, Lautsch, who majored in Human Development and Psychological Services, credits the School of Education and Social Policy with preparing her in many ways: "While working with middle schoolers, I understand their development so much more because of all of my human development classes. I understand the politics and processes involved in the policies enacted within the public school system because of my social policy classes. I work intensely with colleagues, and we all work together for a common goal, and all of my SESP classes help me work with people from all different backgrounds to reach a decision."
"Every day I am a teacher, a learner, a therapist, a social worker, a friend, a colleague, and a listener. I would not be successful if I hadn't learned how to do all of these things at Northwestern."
Last Modified: 8/14/09