Community soccer event at SJU helps to tear down walls
February 22, 2018
By Mike Killeen; Photo by Elena Anderla '21
About halfway through a soccer game Feb. 17 at Saint John’s University, Sunil Chetty took a turn as a goalkeeper.
“I can be a wall – a very thin wall,” said Chetty, smiling.
Goalies usually are walls, the last line of defense. But Chetty, an associate professor of mathematics at SJU and the College of Saint Benedict, and others helped tear down walls during the event.
About 25 students from the greater St. Cloud area gathered at Gagliardi Field in the Skalicky Dome to play soccer. The players included students from North and South junior highs in St. Cloud, Saint John’s Preparatory School and Kennedy Community School in St. Joseph, augmented by students and staff from the College of Saint Benedict and SJU.
“At a dinner with the presidents last spring, they put out the question, ‘How could we be involved in the community?’ My wife is a teacher at North Junior High, and her Somali students are all about soccer. They love following European soccer.
“We wanted to connect with them … it was just a way to respond to the presidents questions about how we can connect with the community,” Chetty said.
“A year ago in the spring, there were the issues on campus surrounding inclusivity and some tensions in St. Cloud – not directly related to Saint John’s or Saint Ben’s,” said SJU President Michael Hemesath ’81, who was watching the pick-up game on the sidelines. “Sunil said to me, ‘Have you ever thought about trying to engage the community and bring them to campus?’
“So, we started talking about what might work. Sunil’s wife works at North Junior High, and he said the kids love soccer. Is there a way we could combine those things to generate some goodwill and bring some kids to campus that might not otherwise be on a college campus? We also wanted to remind the community we’re out here and we’re a place that cares deeply about the health of the community,” Hemesath said.
“Sunil did a lot of the work, and Nicci (Malecha, SJU athletic department coordinator) also did a lot of the organizing,” Hemesath added.
Soccer players from both the CSB and SJU soccer teams joined the students, who played a lively game of soccer for two hours.
“It seemed like something fun to do,” said Laurel Poole, a first-year midfielder on the CSB soccer team from Longview, Washington. “Since it was free, I thought it would attract a lot of different people. It was kind of casual.
“It brought in the community, not just (children) from St. Joseph. I think that’s a really great thing,” Poole added.
Reed Mauriala is a Minnesota Math Corps tutor at North Junior High, and worked with Chetty to get students to come to the event.
“Sunil got in touch with me about two months ago asking how we could facilitate more communal soccer spaces and get people out here to Saint John’s. It shows the kids what facilities we have and what’s possible if you go to the collegiate level,” said Mauriala, a 2014 University of St. Thomas graduate.
“It shows the kids what’s possible – if you really set your mind to it and if you’re focused, you might be able to play at the collegiate level,” Mauriala said.
All in all, the students seemed to enjoy themselves. For Chetty, it came back to the original question: “How can we be part of the community? How can we help unite people?
“Sports is one of those things that can help people come together, just like with the Winter Olympics going on,” Chetty said. “We can all share the love of playing a game.”