As a Southern Illinois University Carbondale football player, James Ceasar, of Detroit, joined his teammates in volunteering at NubAbility, a nonprofit that hosts sports camps for young, limb-different athletes, giving them the opportunity to be with other children like them and learn how very much they can do. Now back at SIU to complete his graduate degree in sport administration in SIU’s College of Health and Human Sciences, Ceasar is part of a growing group of SIU interns and volunteers who help with the program.

“The children have such good spirits,” said Ceasar, a camp programming intern, “and even with their limb differences, they don’t make excuses. It’s taught me not to make excuses – to just get things done. They are very inspirational.”

In conjunction with its mission to give back to the community while providing the students real-life experience in their fields, SIU has established a formal internship with NubAbility, offering students the opportunity to play vital roles in the program while earning college credit and receiving a small stipend.

“We have an amazing team of interns who are an absolute blessing,” said NubAbility founder and executive director Sam Kuhnert. “We need people who can work in many facets, and these young people are incredibly talented. They’re helping find sponsors and campers, handling our social media, planning more than 1,600 meals, running the camp store – which may have up to $10,000 in sales during the camp – helping with programming and scheduling, coordinating transportation and logistics for dozens of coaches’ incoming flights, facilitating the Game Changer Benefit attended by about 600 people, creating new components and much more.”

Having a big impact

SIU students from the College of Health and Human Sciences, College of Business and Analytics, College of Liberal Arts, and School of Education are helping this summer with everything from camp operations to coaching to social media.

Taeho Yoh, who is director of the sport administration program in the College of Health and Human Sciences and cross-appointed as a professor in the College of Business and Analytics, and Jun Kim, associate professor of recreation professions, were instrumental in helping establish the NubAbility internship, Kuhnert said.

The Salukis say they enjoy helping the young campers.

“The kids look up to us, almost as if we’re celebrities or rock stars,” Ceasar said. “They relate to us in such a good way. And it’s a heavy responsibility to deserve that. But these kids are so awesome and loving, it inspires us to be good mentors.”

When Dalton Dull was born 13 years ago with a limb difference, his mom, Amy, quickly went into research mode to find resources.

“You don’t know how to help them do things and be as successful as they can be, and you want to do that,” she said.

Dull discovered NubAbility, and the family has been coming to the summer camp from their Beaverton, Michigan, home every year since Dalton was 6. She said that not only has Dalton become amazingly adept at whatever he chooses to do despite having just a thumb and pinky on his left arm, but they have come to feel the people of NubAbility, including the volunteers from SIU, are their “Southern Illinois family.”

She said she’ll never forget the look on Dalton’s face the first time the Saluki athletes came to camp.

“The kids looked at them like they were professional athletes. They had stars in their eyes,” Dull said. “They felt loved and cared for by these college students, and it was a beautiful thing to behold. The volunteers never judge the kids, so this is a place where the kids can be utterly comfortable. They can laugh, learn skills, act goofy and just be themselves surrounded by their peers.

“I love that the SIU interns and volunteers are interested and give of their time to help. It’s wonderful that they’re willing to take this on. I give them lots of kudos for how well they handle the work and stress involved and all they do for NubAbility and the kids. I’m very humbled to see these kids who are born with limb differences work hard and do what everybody else does and sometimes more. It’s a life-changing experience for the kids and the volunteers.”

Experiential learning

NubAbility’s impact is felt throughout the country and the world. Through about 50 camps and clinics across the country, the organization has served more than 1,700 children since founded by Sam at the age of 17, along with his mother, Jana. Sam Kuhnert, who was born missing part of an arm, said the organization has a coaching staff of more than 120 limb-different professional and collegiate athletes, 10 Paralympians and numerous volunteers and interns. The annual July All Sports camp in Du Quoin, open to ages 4-17, features 19 sports. The motto is #dontneed2, and Kuhnert said the SIU students help assure that campers learn that message.

“The big thing we do is treat these interns as equals,” Kuhnert said. “They are helping us learn and grow; you can always be better than you are today. And they are learning new things and techniques. We’re never at a place of contentment. We’re always working to grow, and they’re growing as they give to us.”

The interns agree.

“It’s not fluff like some internships,” said Claire Mathews, a 2023 SIU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in English from Batavia, Illinois, who serves as the website intern. “They really push us to contribute and succeed, just like the kids at the camp really dig deep.”

She’s thoroughly enjoying her internship, which has involved a lot of writing, website design, marketing and editorial work, and more. She is excited to be setting up a new online initiative, Nub Narratives, which will feature video clips and interviews showcasing the NubAbility participants and families telling their stories and sharing how the program impacts them. She’s also adding a new component to the NubAbility website that will enable limb-different children and their families to connect online with a mentor who is just like them.

“They can search by limb difference, state and other facets and find contact information for a mentor and also be able to find video tutorials,” Kuhnert said. “They can see how someone like them ties shoes, swings a golf club, plays softball. It’s going to be a real game changer.”

Kendra Gregory, a senior communications studies major with a public relations specialty from Du Quoin, is the marketing and public relations intern this summer. Also president of SIU’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America, she’s been creating the NubAbility newsletter and expanding the program’s outreach to children and families, individually and through medical facilities.

Blayke Spencer, a junior elementary education major from Du Quoin, is serving a Game Changer Benefit intern. She previously volunteered in the Nub Shop in 2021 and with the social media team last year.

“I fell in love with the organization, and the work they do and the message they deliver,” Spencer said. She said working in various roles has given her great experience in planning, organizing and much more, and she’s confident that will prove beneficial when she graduates and begins teaching, preferably young children about first-grade level.

Ceasar, who has a bachelor’s degree in business and administration, is debating between two career paths, as he plans to complete his master’s degree in December.  He may go on to law school and become a sports agent, or he may elect to become a high school athletic director/coach. In either case, he’s gained invaluable experience this summer.

“As a sports programming intern, I get to work closely with Sam, developing projects, getting equipment, securing funding and much more,” Ceasar said. “I’m also developing a new program this year. Pro Day will be similar to what other big athletic camps have. It will let the NubAbility athletes showcase their abilities and skills through drills and contests. They will leave their marks and can earn a place on the new leader/record boards.”

Also serving as NubAbility interns this summer are:

• Cibyl Mercier, a senior business management major from Du Quoin, meal program intern.
• John Cameron, a senior marketing major from Brownstown, Michigan, social media intern.
• Jacqueline Crain, a junior sport administration major with a minor in coaching from Du Quoin, sports management intern.

“We truly believe in learning by doing, and the SIU interns have all done a wonderful job,” Kuhnert said. “We have the same philosophy with them as with the NubAbility kids – team first. We roll up our shirt sleeves, and everyone works hard. We’re grateful that SIU is working with us to provide the internship opportunities to give the students a chance to give back to the community while learning.”

Throughout the summer and during the camp this week, the SIU interns will be hard at work. On Saturday, they’ll be joined by volunteers from SIU’s football team, volleyball team, and men’s and women’s basketball teams, and perhaps other student athletes.

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