Published December 05, 2014
Ten student athletes from the University of Louisiana at Monroe participated in the
Big Whit 77 Foundation’s “Wish List” project, which surprised 10 families in northeast
Louisiana with dinner and a Christmas gift shopping spree. The foundation chose five
families from Ouachita Parish and five families from Lincoln Parish.
ULM’s athletes were joined by athletes from Louisiana Tech University. The group was
treated to dinner and games at Chuck E. Cheese’s followed by a surprise shopping spree
at Toys “R” Us.
Lisa Miller, ULM Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management, and Big Whit
77 Foundation board member said, “This is what Christmas is all about. Our athletes
really got into the spirit of giving and it is so wonderful to know that we can do
some good in this world.”
ULM sent athletes from three sports. Women’s Basketball representatives were Aleesha
Coulter, a senior psychology major from Auckland, New Zealand; Alayshia Hunter, a
junior kinesiology major from Killeen, Texas; and Christina Gray, a senior accounting
major from Winnfield.
Men’s Basketball representatives included Chinedu Amajoyi, a senior communication
major from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; and Tylor Ongwae, a senior business major from
Eldoret, Kenya.
ULM track and field was represented by members of its men’s and women’s teams including
Jamel Sams, a senior computer science major from Longview, Texas; Dominique Cheffin,
a sophomore nursing major from Ruston; Teona Glave, a senior agriculture business
major from Manchester, Jamaica; and Rychlend Martin-Horne, a toxicology major from
Bedford, Texas.
ULM Baseball was represented by Joshua Faciane, a general business major from New
Orleans.
ULM and Louisiana Tech athletes help grant Christmas wishes
The athletes were chosen through the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), a
group comprised of athletes from various sports who serve as the voice for student-athlete
issues on and off the field.
The committee provides a forum for student-athletes to present specific concerns and
participate in the formulation of policies within the department; promotes efficient
communication between student-athletes and the athletic administration; encourages
more involvement of the student-athlete in campus and community projects; helps build
a sense of community within the athletic department and all athletic teams; and contributes
and builds the Student-Athlete Life Skills Program.
Seth Hall, staff adviser for the SAAC, said “This event was awesome. This was one
of the proudest I have ever been of ULM student-athletes. They were so excited to
take part in a truly altruistic event and organization.”
The event was facilitated by The Big Whit 77 Foundation, and sponsored by Kirby-Orten-Guillot-Breaux
and Associates from Merrill Lynch.
To learn more about the Big Whit 77 Foundation, visit http://www.bigwhit77.com/
