For some Villanova Division I student-athletes, their involvement in athletics on campus extends beyond their own team.
Numerous Villanova student-athletes annually volunteer for Special Olympics Pennsylvania to give back to the community that has given them so much.
Villanova has hosted the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Fall Festival on its campus for the past 36 years, and it is the largest annual student-run Special Olympics event in the world. Thousands of people participate in the event in November, and there is year-long preparation behind the scenes.
Annie Welde, a senior forward on the women’s basketball team, believes that Fall Festival encapsulates Villanova’s Augustinian mission of service.
“Your time here is so much bigger than just being on a sports team,” Welde said. “Obviously, academics comes first, but community involvement is what makes this place so special.”
Welde grew up down the road in Havertown, PA. She started volunteering for Special Olympics Pennsylvania as a high schooler at Cardinal O’Hara High School. Now, entering her final year at Villanova, Welde will partake in her eighth Fall Fest.
Henry Gingrich is also a senior student-athlete heavily involved in Special Olympics. He is on the Villanova swimming and diving team and hails from Lititz, PA.
“The support crew that Villanova Athletics does a great job at being liaisons between sport teams and Special Olympics,” Gingrich said. “I was part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, which is a committee with two athletes per team and they meet once a month.”
Gingrich was inspired by his cousin, who has autism, to begin volunteering for the Special Olympics and support athletes with intellectual disabilities. It also provided a way for Gingrich to serve the Villanova community and get more involved on campus. Along with other members of the swimming and diving team, Gingrich volunteers for the Awards Ceremony Committee every year.
“It doesn’t feel like a burden or a requirement. It feels like a privilege,” Gingrich said. “We see the impact right when we hand [the athletes] their medals, a huge smile on their face. They’re excited, we’re excited. The positive impact we make is priceless.”
A junior defender on the men’s lacrosse team, Jack Gormley, has been involved with the Special Olympics since he stepped foot on campus. Gormley was first interested in the Special Olympics student organization when it was discussed during freshman Orientation. Now he sits on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee alongside Gingrich.
Men’s lacrosse head coach Mike Corrado graduated from Villanova in 1987. Since he used to participate in fall fest nearly 40 years ago, Corrado now ensures the men’s lacrosse team continues the legacy of positive community impact.
“I think they just do a great job of allowing you to excel in different programs but also meet new people,” Gormley said. “The way they do the Special Olympics is unlike any other school and I think that just adds to the sense of community that Villanova teaches you and shows you throughout your time here.”
Another strong connection that Villanova has with SpO is through women’s basketball manager Rachel Grace. Better known as RG3 around campus, she is a Special Olympics athlete who has played soccer in several Fall Fests.
“[RG3] has played soccer all the years that I’ve been here, so even all summer, she goes to the [Special Olympics] tournaments,” Welde said. “She comes literally every single day to see us practice and helps us do what we need to do. Just being able to support her, her team and all the other athletes has always been so cool.”
Welde and other members of the women’s basketball team look forward to cheering on all athletes, signing autographs outside Connelly Center and taking part in the biggest weekend on campus.
Decades of tradition and history inspire generations of Villanovans, students and athletes alike, to get involved in the 36th annual PA Special Olympics Fall Fest this upcoming weekend, Nov. 7 to 9.
