Cavalier Corner is the publication just for UVa sports fans!
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BY GREG WATERS A KIL MITCHELL KNOWS a little some- thing about being a catalyst for change in an organization. Just ask Virginia men's basketball head coach Tony Bennett. "I'm thankful that for four years I got to be a part of watching [fourth-years Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell] grow from boys to men and turn our program around," Bennett said following Virginia's season-ending loss to Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. "They've established this program, and I think in time they are going to be able to look back and feel so good about it. They've left a legacy that they won't forget." Mitchell finished his four-year career ranked third all time at UVa in games played (133), sev- enth in rebounds (798) and tied for 14th in double- doubles (15). Over the last three seasons he started 86 games, including 71 in the last two campaigns. Under the leadership of the coaching staff and the only two original members of Bennett's first recruit- ing class to stay with their coach for four seasons, Mitchell and Harris took UVa basketball from a 48- 47 record the three years prior to Bennett's arrival to a 75-29 mark over the most recent three seasons. The Cavaliers reached a pair of NCAA Tourna- ments, including the program's first Sweet 16 since 1995, and the duo led the Hoos to their first ACC Tournament championship since Gerald Ford was president (1976). While Mitchell was changing hoops fortunes on the hardwood at Virginia, he was also working to change things at the executive level of the univer- sity. During the spring semester, Mitchell (along with two other sociology students) was selected to participate in a student internship program working in the office of UVa President Teresa Sullivan. President Sullivan, also a sociologist, initiated the program of sociology students serving in her office in 2010. This program mirrors a similar experience Sullivan participated in when she interned in the of- fice of Michigan State University President Clifton Wharton following her college graduation in 1970. The goal is to provide students with a world-class experience in higher education while exposing them to diverse career paths and professional positions. The three-credit course requires 10-15 hours each week working directly in the president's office fo- cusing on three different presidential areas: strategic planning, the Board of Visitors Office and the Of- fice of Major Events. Interns also must complete a research paper under the guidance of President Sullivan that explores some aspect of UVa student life using a sociological perspective. Sociology professor Katya Makarova oversees the academic component of the program. LEAVING A LEGACY Akil Mitchell Made A Mark For The Cavaliers