Youve seen them ply their wares on the playing field, now you can see them in a different setting. Six West Virginia University athletes will step up to the podium and present five-minute motivational speeches as part of an assignment in Professor Carolyn AtkinsSpeaking to Communitiescourse.

Theyll deliver their speeches to coaches and others from 1-1:45 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3, in the Jerry West Lounge of the WVU Coliseum. The public is invited to attend, and the event is part of an assignment that has also had the athletes making the same speeches to students at public schools in the Morgantown area.

This is an opportunity for student athletes to be ambassadors for WVU as they share motivational speech topics based on their life experiences,said Dr. Atkins, a professor of speech pathology and audiology.

The program started in 1990. In addition to the speeches, students in the class will also read stories to kindergarten and first grade students at North Elementary Nov. 10, and visit patients at Childrens Hospital Nov. 15.

The athletes and their topics:

  • Jarrett Brown, freshman quarterback on the football team from W. Palm Beach, Fla.,Making the Choice
  • AltonDeeMcCann, senior defensive back on the football team from Lucedale, Miss.,Three Men
  • AbrahamHamJones, junior defensive back on the football team from Prichard, Ala.,Hope
  • Eric Connolly, sophomore wrestler from Fanwood, N.J.,Heart and Desire
  • Jason Gwaltney, freshman running back on the football team from North Babylon, N.Y.,More Than a Game
  • ArlenAceDorsey, senior running back on the football team from Chicago, Ill.,Bad Past-Bright Future