是否领导一个班级, cheering from the sidelines or hosting popcorn nights in a residence hall, St. 博纳旺蒂尔大学的博士. 宝拉 Scraba, O.S.F., puts her focus on teaching students to be there for other people.
这是她年轻时学到的理想.
“My dad was a coach, so we were always on the sidelines as kids, supporting various teams,” she said.
体育副教授, Scraba first arrived on campus 20 years ago this summer via her Franciscan roots. 那是她父亲的姨妈, a member of the Franciscan 任务aries of Mary, 是谁把她介绍给圣. 弗朗西斯，是老弗朗西斯. 玛格丽特·卡尼，0.S.F.圣. Bonaventure, who encouraged Scraba to bring her talents to Bonaventure.
被亲切地称为“博士”. 宝拉,” she leads the SBU initiatives with Special Olympics 纽约 and guides the Physical Activity Club (PAC), Student Athletic Advisory Council and the Student Athlete Fellowship and Wellness Club. She is also team chaplain for soccer, softball and lacrosse.
特奥会是她心中的一项事业. 早在2006年, Scraba和Neal Johnson, president emeritus of Special Olympics 纽约, 倡导全球网赌十大网站和特奥会.
What began with a few clinics in basketball and floor hockey has grown into a popular Unified Sports clinic involving a half-dozen local school districts and SBU 体育运动. St. Bonaventure students take on leadership positions in planning and executing each clinic, working one-on-one with the Special Olympics athletes.
“Unified Sports has totally changed the culture in the local schools because it pairs students with disabilities with a mentor,斯克拉布说. “现在这些学生成了好朋友. It’s all about building relationships through sports.”
Johnson has high praise for Scraba’s strong commitment to inclusion for all.
“Dr. 宝拉 is an indomitable force who opens doors for every student,他说. “She is an ideal ambassador for the university and a great partner for Special Olympics.”
斯克拉巴也是一名内阁部长, living on campus in Devereux Hall where she serves a variety of popcorn and toppings for students every Tuesday, 还有每年三月的三叶草奶昔.
“It’s the job I don’t get paid for that I enjoy the most,” she said. “There is something unique about servant leadership. That’s why I live in the resident halls with students and do the hospitality of Popcorn Tuesday. 我们聚在一起擘饼. It provides the opportunity to build relationships.”
格里芬威特, a rising senior physical education major from Webster, 纽约, 也是博纳游泳队的成员, the Physical Activity Club and the wellness group, has volunteered with Scraba for the past two years.
“I’ve seen firsthand how hard she works to be involved with the campus community and to help establish connections between people,他说. “Popcorn Tuesdays and Shamrock Shake nights are great. 欢迎大家. We usually have ESPN+ running and watch a game or get some conversations going.”
A native of Putnam, Connecticut, Scraba grew up as the middle child of six offspring. Her maternal grandparents owned a hardware store while her paternal grandparents operated a small grocery store.
“星期四是货运日. Our parents would load up the station wagon after school and we kids would make games out of who could stock the fastest. I think I first helped stock shelves while still in diapers.”
斯克拉巴的母亲是个家庭主妇, her father a coach and business education teacher who served with the Army National Guard to help pay for his children’s education.
“In my family, careers were made in the military, in business or as school teachers,斯克拉布说.
She holds an undergraduate degree in physical education and a master’s and doctorate in special physical education from the University of Connecticut. She also earned a master’s degree in Franciscan studies from St. Bonaventure and is a member of the Franciscan Sisters of Washington, D.C.
While at UConn, she competed on the basketball and swim teams. She marvels that this year marks 50 years of 第九条 being passed into law. “Back in the 1970s, we were fighting for equity for women in sports.”
She notes how many milestones have been reached since then (the U.S. women’s soccer team winning their equal pay lawsuit earlier this year being one of those landmark achievements) but says the journey continues.
她对圣的爱. 博纳文蒂尔深不可测. She donates monthly to nearly 15 different athletic funds as well as the Student Veterans to Assisi Pilgrimage Program (in honor of the military connection her family proudly holds). And every Reunion Weekend, during the alumni dinners, Scraba sits with the Class of 1954.
“那是我出生的那一年,她解释道, “plus there is something about that generation of Bona alumni you can’t explain. 他们用鲜血、汗水和泪水回报.”
这是斯克拉巴理解的生活方式.
在每个学年中, she begins each class with a prayer and ends it with a reminder for students to always show respect for themselves, for others and for the environment — and to always give back because “someone was there for you, and now it is time for you to be there for someone else. 去,真正的!”
That lesson hasn’t been lost on the students who’ve sat in her classrooms.
“Dr. 宝拉毫不犹豫地帮助别人. 她是我的得力助手. 无论我需要什么，她都在那里，”维特说. “底线是，她是一位独一无二的教授.”
作者:苏珊·安德森
2022年5月