My name is Michael Hayes, and I am a kicker and punter for the football team at Georgia State University. I am more than an athlete, though. I am a student-athlete. The space I chose to sit in and observe is study hall. Just like any other student-athlete, I have to attend study hall twice a week. These sessions take place in the academic office room, inside of Georgia State University’s Stadium. The purpose of study hall is to focus and spend time completing assignments with the assistance of intelligent mentors around.
The reason I chose the athletic study hall room to write about is because it is a quiet environment most of the time. I am in this large, dull room a good bit as well, even in the summers. I do not necessarily enjoy being in the room, but it serves a useful purpose. I felt like this spot would be a perfect place to sit back and reflect on the happenings around the room because not much goes on. Paying close attention to details is easier as well because you are just sitting back and observing.
In the room, are shiny, wooden tables aligned in rows with gleaming computer monitors, a mouse, and a keyboard on top of the tables. Under each table and at each computer, is a bright, black leather chair. In the corner of the room, sits a large, fancy, white touchscreen printer with lots of paper inside it, under a gleaming light. A few of my football teammates, Qua, Seth, and Connor, are sitting in this space with me, spread out across the room at a computer, completing their class assignments. There are five academic advisors in study hall as well: Mr. Stovall, Stephanie, Scott, Valana, and Dartez. Three out of the five of them have their own offices, which are in the room as well. They sometimes bring us student-athletes into their offices to have a heart to heart about our grades. If you go into any of the three offices, you know a severe conversation is about to go down. Their job is to help us athletes complete our homework assignments, make sure we finish/turn the assignments in, and be accessible for questions we have. They are not there to do the work for us, only to assist us with needed help.
A societal issue that comes to mind while I am in this in the academic office space is poverty and homelessness. I see it every day here in Atlanta, and I have not been used to it. Coming from a somewhat small, rural town in South Carolina, I never thought about it. Walking to class, walking to the cafe, driving to the grocery store are all times that I notice poverty from the homeless people on the side of the street. As humans, we take simple things for granted every single day. I am thankful to be apart of a University that cares about athletes enough to provide us with the resources we need to be successful in the classroom, as well as on the field. If I were homeless and poor, I would not have a large study hall room with tutors to help and push me to complete my work. I would not have a fancy touchscreen printer and computers to complete my class assignments. I would not have these resources around me to better myself in the classroom.
It was interesting observing what was IN the study hall space and what was happening around me in the room. Usually, I am strictly in there to do my work and leave as fast as I possibly can. While I sat back and observed, I noticed lots of details for different things in the room. The luxurious leather chairs we have, the new shiny computers, the touchscreen printer are all examples. I am thankful to have these things around me to assist my learning.
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