William Jewell College’s men’s soccer team has partnered with Kansas City International Academy (KCIA) for their most recent act of community service: exchanging letters with pen pals in KCIA’s third grade class.

KCIA is an elementary school in downtown Kansas City that has historically served immigrant families. On their website, KCIA notes that students represent 21 different countries across Asia, Africa and South America. KCIA’s website also notes that several students come from economically disadvantaged homes, with 98 percent of their students receiving free or reduced lunch rates. 

Eddie Horn, head men’s soccer coach, emphasized the natural connection between the soccer team and KCIA, given the universality of soccer. 

“As a Charter school that serves primarily immigrants it seemed like a perfect fit since most people all over the world follow soccer. It is also a very popular recess activity there,” Horn said. 

Horn joined the Jewell community about 18 months ago, and this pen pal partnership is the first community outreach project he has been able to implement with his team. Though they had organized a dance for individuals with special needs to take place this past spring, the pandemic sent the team – along with the rest of the campus community – home before they could implement it. 

Horn noted that, to him, coaching entails a lot more than ensuring his players are physically adept. 

“One of my coaching ‘pillars’ is to help our players become the best version of themselves they can be. It is hard to quantify what that means exactly – a little like Art – hard to describe but you know it when you see it – and a part of that process is learning to give of yourself for the good of others. With Covid it has made it more difficult to find ways for our team to find meaningful ways to achieve this,” Horn said. “It is my hope that this is more meaningful than the typical ‘show up and read to a class’ and then no follow up. With this being a longer term commitment to KCIA, I hope it is more impactful for all involved.”

Grant Ryals, a midfielder on the men’s soccer team and junior physics major, echoed Horn’s sentiments.

“[G]iving back to the community is huge for me. Having the ability to get a large group together committed to making an impact on the people that surround our school – it helps build a unique relationship based on positivity and giving,” Ryals said. 

Ryals noted that despite being unable to see the kids’ reactions to the letters, the soccer team has been able to view some “very happy Twitter pictures” that have indicated that the letters have been warmly welcomed by the students of Kansas City International Academy.

Quarantine has brought me a surplus of free time, and social distancing has left me with very limited options for entertainment. When I finally decide to drag myself out from under my covers and pursue some form of stimulation, I will often partake in one the following activities: 

Picnics 

If I can call packing picnic fare, searching around my house for a blanket, scouring the park for a good spot and eating outside a hobby, then going on picnics is my primary hobby. Though I have long been an avid fan of picnic food and spending time outdoors, quarantine has given me time and heightened my appreciation for being outside my house. As of late, when I feel particularly down, I will pack a book, a blanket, some fruit, some cheese, something I have baked recently and head to a local park. 

Sunrise picnics are my particular favorite. I am decidedly a night owl and I do not usually see the sunrise, but occasionally I will set my alarm for 5:45 a.m., brew some coffee in my thermos, grab a muffin and drive to the lake near my house. It is quiet and peaceful, and every single time, I will wish that I could be a morning person and have those still moments every day. The middle-aged power walking ladies are also usually there around 6:30 a.m., and they will smile and wave at me as I consume my coffee. I usually see a dog or two and I will usually shamelessly tempt them with my muffin in the hope that they might come over and let me pet them. I have had one success with it – Chip, the black lab, was very excited and tried to drink my coffee. Chip’s owner was very embarrassed, and I was thrilled. 

Paper Folding

It seems that moving back to my childhood bedroom has spurred in me the strange desire to pick up the hobby I had as a 9-year-old. Midway into quarantine, I found myself perusing Amazon for origami paper. How did I get into paper folding as a child? I absolutely have no idea, but 9-year-old me spent a rather embarrassing amount of time constructing animals and flowers out of paper. At 21 years old, I can now only remember how to make a paper crane without instructions. However, quarantine has given me an unwanted amount of time, and now I am relearning how to make a paper tulip as I watch cooking documentaries on Netflix. 

Pen Pals

Many of my peers can confirm that going from being constantly surrounded by friends to only speaking to them over the phone has been inexpressibly challenging. I have sorely felt the empty spaces that had once been filled by people that I love to spend time with, but sending and receiving letters has somehow filled those spaces a little bit. I have guilted my friends into being my penpals, and it has been rather successful so far – I usually average around three or four letters a week. I usually like to ask my pen pals questions about their personalities or their likes and dislikes in each letter, and I have been delighted to find that I am learning new things about my friends. As a side effect of having pen pals, I am now obsessed with buying stationery – a gratifying but somewhat pricey consequence. 

Pâtisserie

It seems that everyone and their mom has taken up baking because there is a decided shortage of instant yeast in the baking section of my grocery store. I, too, have found myself joining the ranks of people trying new recipes and have found an excellent time diversion. For pastry items, I have been making rugelach, cream puffs and mini berry lemon tarts. The tarts were especially excellent as blueberry, strawberry and lemon is one of my favorite flavor combinations. Though not categorized as patisserie, I have also enjoyed making bread. Last week, I quite loudly rejoiced in my small neighborhood grocery store as I spied one lone bag of yeast on the shelf. If you happen to have yeast and want to try your hand at bread making, I would recommend this recipe for Jalapeño Cheddar bread. Savory bread is heavenly, and this bread is excellent for grilled cheese sandwiches.