Fourth in a series
By RICHIE HALL
Matthew Godfrey of Guerin Catholic and his fellow Hamilton County teammates in the junior class (Nolan Ginther of Noblesville, Caymn Lutz of Hamilton Heights and Aaron Shank of Hamilton Southeastern) are not only enjoying the experience as members of the DePauw University men’s basketball team, but are taking advantage of the many opportunities that the campus has to offer both academically and socially.
All four are involved in fraternities. Godfrey is a member of Beta Theta Phi, while the others are members of Phi Kappa Psi.
“You get a great sense of community here,” said Shank of DePauw. “It’s a small town, it’s not overwhelming at all. There’s definitely room to have a social life.”
“You get challenged academically and you’re able to be a real college student,” said Shank, who is majoring in kinesiology. That caught his reason when he began to do research on that major.
“I think I’ve always been more of a science person, as opposed to loving math or English,” said Shank. “Especially being an athlete, it’s something you do every day.”
Shank plans to pursue a career in radiology, going into a two-year program to be a technician.
“You got to learn from another radiologist assistant, work under them for a year or two, then you can get certified,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ginther is studying actuarial science and economics, while Lutz is studying economics and computer science.
“I’m thinking about the consulting field,” said Lutz, who is interested in helping companies with problems they may have. He calls it a “good mix between my majors because I like talking to people.”
Fenlon said that Ginther is “a math whiz,” and has him connected with someone who can help him along with his major.
“We happen to have a former player who lives in Bermuda who works for a British insurance company, his guy’s been at the highest level for probably 20 years now,” said Fenlon.
“Sometimes, guys when they’re 17, even really smart guys, they can tend to over-identify the basketball part of them,” said Fenlon. “They see themselves as a basketball player. Their families see them that way, their friends see them that way. Those guys don’t always do great at a place like DePauw.”
The coach said that helping his players figure out what else they can be beyond basketball players is important.
“That’s why it’s important to me that guys in our program will take advantage of it,” said Fenlon. “Those older guys are all doing it, whether it’s internships or May terms, all of those guys.”
Fenlon took his players to Northern Ireland to do conflict resolution with a group called Peace Players International. The organization’s website says its purpose is to “use the power of sport to unite, educate and inspire young people to create a more peaceful world.”
“They learned a lot, they did a little bit of good, they had some fun,” said Fenlon.
In all, the junior class at DePauw is making a difference. Fenlon said that “when you have guys like that, it’s really rewarding to do what I do.”
