Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1503568
8 A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 OPENING SHOT BABY BOOM Penn State football players, coaches and staff members piled into four buses and trav- eled to the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center on May 31 to pay a surprise visit to patients and staff at the hospital in Hershey, Pa. It was the team's first in-person visit since before the pandemic began in 2020, and head coach James Franklin was happy to get the wheels rolling once again. "It's great to be back," Franklin said. "Get- ting back here brings back great memories. It's really good to hear some of the stories of the doctors and nurses who have been here a long time." The Nittany Lions had been making the 100- mile trip annually since 2014, Franklin's first season at Penn State. After COVID hit in the spring of 2020, the team had been restricted to paying virtual visits. All the while, everyone was eager to get back to face-to-face interac- tion. This year, the hospital and the football program were able to make it happen. Players spent the afternoon talking to pa- tients and their families, playing games and signing autographs. A few players, including redshirt junior offensive lineman Ibrahim Traore (right), got to meet some of the hos- pital's newborns. Franklin said that in addition to brighten- ing the lives of others, the experience helps players develop a sense of perspective about the difficulties they encounter in life and in athletics. "They're here, and they realize that people are having some real challenges and issues that they're having to work through," he said. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Dvon Ellies echoed that sentiment. "You understand that you have your prob- lems or your issues, whatever you're going through," Ellies told Brian Tripp of GoPSU- Sports.com. "It put things in a lens that helps you understand things aren't so bad and there are harder battles out there and to appreciate everything that you have." — Matt Herb PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS