Students who act as team managers for high school sports take on a lot of responsibility. They provide crucial support to coaches as well as players. They keep up with equipment, assist coaches in communication and scheduling, and generally help to be sure all the off-the-field logistics run as smoothly as possible. Jennifer Dixson Hoff and her husband Michael think that those students deserve recognition. So when they began working with the Lerner and Hunt families to create a scholarship fund at Edina High School, they decided to dedicate it to student athletic team managers.
“Seeing how the kids who volunteered for these positions were responsible and accountable in a different way, we felt it was important to acknowledge them.” Dixson Hoff says “They may not be running the ball down the field, but they are important to the team.”
Hoff is vice president and general manager of the college of nursing, health, and behavioral sciences at the for-profit college Capella. She says that in that role she sees students arriving from high school who may have solid academic achievement but lack some of the business and workplace skills that are important for success.
“Leadership skills are really important,” Hoff says. “Kids coming out of high school don’t always seem to have had opportunities to develop those skills.” Team managers need to earn the respect and trust of the coaching staff and the team. They also learn to communicate and to manage schedules. Taking on that kind of managerial responsibility may help them gain a better understanding of the give-and-take in the workplace.
The team manager scholarship was awarded for the first time this year. It’s administered through a scholarship fund that distributes more than $400,000 in scholarships each year. Cathy Cella is on the Edina High School local scholarship committee. She says that the committee acts as a kind of clearinghouse for the locally funded scholarships that are available to Edina High School students. The committee has a standard application that students complete. The committee also makes sure that each student is awarded only one scholarship from this program.
Cella says that families or organizations sometimes approach her to create an award for a specific type of student, and alumni sometimes create scholarships in honor, or in memory, of a favorite teacher.
“Graduates of the high school often feel like they want to do something to pay it forward,” Cella says.
That’s something that Dixson Hoff feels she and her family are doing as well. Her husband is a graduate of Edina High School and one of their two children graduated in 2016; the other still attends Edina public school. She says that even though her youngest will graduate soon, the family still feels that they owe a lot to Edina public schools and they want to continue to support the district.
“I hope that by creating this scholarship, even as our own children are leaving the school system, we will encourage other families to think about how they can have a strong impact on future students.” Dixson Hoff says.
Those interested in creating a scholarship fund can contact Cathy Cella via e-mail
at
cac7123@gmail.com Students who act as team managers for high school sports take on a lot of responsibility. They provide crucial support to coaches as well as players. They keep up with equipment, assist coaches in communication and scheduling, and generally help to be sure all the off-the-field logistics run as smoothly as possible. Jennifer Dixson Hoff and her husband Michael think that those students deserve recognition. So when they began working with the Lerner and Hunt families to create a scholarship fund at Edina High School, they decided to dedicate it to student athletic team managers. “Seeing how the kids who volunteered for these positions were responsible and accountable in a different way, we felt it was important to acknowledge them.” Dixson Hoff says “They may not be running the ball down the field, but they are important to the team.”
Hoff is vice president and general manager of the college of nursing, health, and behavioral sciences at the for-profit college Capella. She says that in that role she sees students arriving from high school who may have solid academic achievement but lack some of the business and workplace skills that are important for success.
“Leadership skills are really important,” Hoff says. “Kids coming out of high school don’t always seem to have had opportunities to develop those skills.” Team managers need to earn the respect and trust of the coaching staff and the team. They also learn to communicate and to manage schedules. Taking on that kind of managerial responsibility may help them gain a better understanding of the give-and-take in the workplace.
The team manager scholarship was awarded for the first time this year. It’s administered through a scholarship fund that distributes more than $400,000 in scholarships each year. Cathy Cella is on the Edina High School local scholarship committee. She says that the committee acts as a kind of clearinghouse for the locally funded scholarships that are available to Edina High School students. The committee has a standard application that students complete. The committee also makes sure that each student is awarded only one scholarship from this program. Cella says that families or organizations sometimes approach her to create an award for a specific type of student, and alumni sometimes create scholarships in honor, or in memory, of a favorite teacher.
“Graduates of the high school often feel like they want to do something to pay it forward,” Cella says.
That’s something that Dixson Hoff feels she and her family are doing as well. Her husband is a graduate of Edina High School and one of their two children graduated in 2016; the other still attends Edina public school. She says that even though her youngest will graduate soon, the family still feels that they owe a lot to Edina public schools and they want to continue to support the district.
“I hope that by creating this scholarship, even as our own children are leaving the school system, we will encourage other families to think about how they can have a strong impact on future students.” Dixson Hoff says.
Those interested in creating a scholarship fund can contact Cathy Cella via e-mail at cac7123@gmail.com
