Students in Hilbert’s Sports Management program will gain real world experience working at this year’s Super Bowl.

Recently the Hilbert Women’s Soccer team has been struggling to come up with wins. The last couple of games they have been able to tune the games around and help pick up wins for Hilbert.

On Monday, October 16^th the women’s soccer team was able to come home with a victory, eleven to nothing. On Wednesday, October 18^th they were able to take another win on their senior night against Pitts-Bradford, ten to one.

Junior Chloe Champagne says, “our last two games have not been against very competitive teams.” When asked about what has helped the team in the last two games. Champagne also says that the communication on the team has gotten way better than it was in the beginning being as everyone who was new to the team hadn’t had a chance to bond with each other yet.

Communication on the team is very important according to both Senior Kaitlyn Sobczak and Junior Chloe Champagne. Without communication the team has not been able to put full trust into each other, as the season goes on the communication has gotten better as stated by both Sobczak and Champagne.

Sobczak says that “trust in each other” is what has made the last two games so successful. “We are at our best when we use every player on the field and trust them to play at their level,” she said.

Sobczak said she is very excited for this season being as it is her final season. She wouldn’t want to be on any other team and couldn’t be any more proud or grateful for the team she has been on the past four years of college.

Champagne being a junior means that she is one of the girls that people look up to other than seniors. She loves the feeling of other people being able to look up to her and ask her questions or open up to her about anything they might be struggling with.

 “The hardest thing about this year season is the adversary with injuries and sicknesses that we have faced,” stated Sobczak. “The adversity we faced only made us stronger and more disciplined on and off the field.”

Champagne shared her hardship of the year by talking about the red card she received while playing a game previously. She takes full responsibility for what she did, and she knew she let her emotions get the best of her and that it would not only affect her but her teammates as well.

“That was a major mental setback that I had to get over to continue being a successful asset to the team.”

Hilbert Football suffered another crushing defeat as they fell to No.21 Endicott last month at Frontier High School.

Hilbert College Football remains winless since the program started last year.

When the game first started on offense Hilbert was driving down the field but could not get the ball into the endzone. The Hawks threw 2 interceptions and could not move the ball passing or rushing following a 118-yard rushing performance last week against Alfred State from freshman running back Darion Reed.

Hilbert’s Taivaughn Roach, a Junior Linebacker, had 14 tackles against Endicott and would be #5 in the nation for Division 3 in total tackles if Hilbert was a part of a league. Another key performance was by transfer sophomore Bryce Robinson who racked up 4 receptions with 44 yards and is the leading the Hawks in receptions and yards.

Taivaughn Roach and Avante Hicks both said they have zero loss of faith in the coach’s game plan and talked about the struggles last season.

 “Right now, we are a young, new, and inexperienced team, we have a lot of talent on this football team, enough talent to be able to win but, as of right now we are just inexperienced,” Roach said. “We just have to take it day by day, get better every day and continue to push ourselves and be the hardest working team in the country because we know no one expects us to be great except ourselves and were just looking to prove all the naysayers wrong.”

Roach said, “losing has not shaken any of our confidence in Coach Edger or any of the coaches gameplan. “When you play at a high level of competition you can’t expect everything to go your way,” he said. “Every team has its ups and downs but were going to continue to improve day by day and were going to go out their next weekend against Gallaudet and try to come out with a W.”

 When asked about the defensive gameplan coming in Roach said, “Endicott is number 21 in the country and, the team knows they have an amazing coaching staff and great players, “So we came out with the mentality to be physical and play hard nose football, even when we were down,” Roach said. “We achieved those two feats because we stayed physical and didn’t give up”

 Roach said he has seen improvement from year one to year two. Said “As a team we are just more dedicated and want it more, we knew coming into this season that we are still a new team and the only people that believe in us are the people that made it through Fall Camp with us so we are going to continue to get better and go out there next weekend and get a W”

 Hicks said he is confident in his offensive coordinator Dallas Tidwell after the fans were frustrated after some questionable calls.

“There are a lot of people on the outside looking in, we on the offense believe and have faith in each other to go out there and play and coach to the best of our ability.

He said the team blocks out the negativity

“We have been hearing the comments about us losing but, we don’t pay any mind to any of the hate,” Hicks said. “We are only concerned with the people that matter which is the people who believe in us as a team.”

Hilbert College has fell to 0-4 on the year and our currently winless since football first arrived at the college but, they are very confident that they can be a force in Divison 3 football

his past Saturday, October 14^th, Hilbert College hosted an open house for incoming or interested students. This event is for students to learn what being a Hilbert Hawk is all about. Students have the chance to tour, learn about Hilbert’s academic programs, athletics, residential life and more.

            Nationally, Hilbert holds the #1 spot for undergraduate forensic science schools. Hilbert is also in the top 10% regarding the income mobility index. While being in the top 15% of in-residence halls, Hilbert is one of the top ten place holders in New York State. (www.hilbert.edu)

            Jordan Sinclair, a Hilbert Alumni and Campus Safety Officer, graduated with a degree in Criminal Justice. While researching schools, there were many former and current police officers that told him Hibert College has one of the best criminal justice programs they knew of. He stated that was what attracted him most to Hilbert.

            Besides education and residential life, Hilbert has an amazing, inclusive community. Sinclair stated that Hilbert’s community was one of the reasons he attended Hilbert. “Everybody talks to each other, it’s a very happy community.” The advice he would like to give to incoming students would be, “get to know your professors, reach out, and talk to them. They would be more than happy to help. This also goes for anyone, including in faculty and staff too.”

There are a lot of things to consider when hosting an open house, like who should be represented. There are many clubs that represent themselves at open house, as well as athletics. Hilbert keeps their alumni very involved and inclusive with these events. Lisa Beckwith is the president of the Alumni Board and had lots of good information to share:

What is the mission of the alumni board?
“The purpose of the Hilbert College Alumni association is to advance the interests of the college, to develop and foster a mutually beneficial relationship between the college and it’s alumni by providing educational opportunities, social programs, services and benefits, to build ties and relationships among alumni and students at the college, to provide alumni input on college concerns and to link the college of today and tomorrow with the heritage of excellence, commitment, and service.”

What are the types of questions that parents and potential students ask you?
“Such a large range. Parents want to know you received a solid education and if you found employment with your degree. They also have asked about safety, professors, financial aid, and the environment. Possible students ask about majors, professors, and careers mostly but again also has a large range. Open House is one of my favorite events because of our unique lens we can speak from.”

At a time when stress levels are high on campuses, Hilbert College found a unique way to uplift its community. The West Herr Atrium was filled with excitement and a sense of community as students gathered for the “Stuff-a-Creature” event, a simple yet impactful activity that emphasizes the importance of bonding with your peers.

The event was straightforward in its approach but effective in its impact, it involved students stuffing their own plush creatures, dressing them in Hilbert College merch, and most importantly, bonding with fellow attendees. The simplicity of creating stuffed animals became a backdrop for something much more significant – building a stronger sense of campus community.

Ethan, a junior studying psychology, shared his experience: “I didn’t really come in with any first impressions, as I had never heard of this event being held before. So, I came just to find out what the experience would be like.” His favorite part? “I like the stuffing because there are a lot of things you can do with it. While stuffing, you learn the best way to use the foam, and who doesn’t like stuffed animals,” he added.

When asked about the broader impact of such events, Ethan reflected on the communal aspect, saying, “I think events like these bring the total joy of the campus up. Some people are super stressed with classes and their daily lives. I think it can help relieve a lot of stress because it gives a feeling of community.”

Behind the scenes, the organizers worked to ensure a great experience. Alexis, a sophomore in the forensic science program and one of the event’s organizers, explained, “The Stuff-a-Creature event is all about fun and stress relief. The goal with these events is to create a welcoming and stress-free environment.” Unlike most other events, this one didn’t face many challenges. “It was one of the more simple and easy events to set up,” she admitted.

Regarding its recurrence, Alexis said, “This event is typically done once per year, but it’s not always scheduled at the same time. The experience is unique, there are different things every time you come. But the theme is mostly what changes between events.” This shows that the core value of bringing people together in a joyful, stress-free setting can be done again and again while still remaining impactful. The “Stuff-a-Creature” event shows that student involvement doesn’t always need elaborate setups or extravagant plans. Sometimes, the joy lies in the simplicity of coming together and spending a little time with your fellow classmates. It’s the small yet thoughtful events like these that strengthen our close-knit and supportive community here at Hilbert College.

A small group of people of about ten from Hilbert spent some time at the Jewish Family Services campus helping clean and refurnish the rooms for future families, from 9:30 to noon. The campus, which was 20 minutes away from Hilbert, is open every weekday from eight am to five pm. When cleaning the rooms, the students and site leader vacuumed, wiped the windows down and removed any garbage, and re-furnished the rooms with new bedding or chairs. The group of ten people broke into three groups and did two or three rooms on the main floor and then another two-three rooms.

Rachel Wozniak said Day of Service is an important event because we are helping our community in the best way possible: giving back. “Franciscan Day of Caring is a special day in the Hilbert academic calendar… allows us the opportunity to set aside our needs and focus on the priorities of the community.”

The planning of it typically starts immediately after the annual Day of Caring is completed, Wozniak adds on that the planning is done “roughly three to four months in advance. Wozniak said the shirts we wore on that day with the Mother Collete quote of “In all things, charity”, is the best way to explain Day of Caring.

“The back of our shirt this year sums up the day perfectly with the Mother Colette quote: In all things, charity’”. Day of Caring involves many organizations in the Western New York Community, one of the organizations being Jewish Family Services located in Buffalo.

Jewish Family Services on the Weinburg Campus is a newly associated partner for Weinburg Campus, as the original owners of the buildings on Weinburg campus was for seniors, the owners realized there were more rooms available than anticipated, so they partnered with Jewish Family services to welcome new refugees to the Western New York Area. Jewish Family Services are also known as a resettlement place. Dascha Valuyskaya, who is an employee, explained how the services works:“Our resettlement, are people who fall under the refugee status, so those who are overseas, go through an immigration process and get accepted through the refugee status,” Valuyskaya said. “They come here, and we find them apartments, we clean them, we furnish the apartments… We will stay with them for about 3 months; make sure they settle in, which sounds like a long time but it’s not especially when you’re in a new country”.

Valuyskaya, who works specifically with the community engagement program on Weinburg campus, said she helps new families in Buffalo get comfortable with their new surroundings, and introduces them to local stores.

“We connect with people who still need help, she said “We will set them up with volunteers, English tutoring, circles of care, in which volunteers stay with the family for six months”. While finding a local grocery store may be easy for us, it’s not as easy for those who are new to the country. Valuyskaya emphasized the importance of getting the families comfortable with their area:

“Showing them libraries, go to the parks, where you can get groceries, clothes,” she said.

In addition to familiarizing the new community members to their area, Jewish Family Services also helps with legal documents, Valuyskaya said. “We also provide other services like case management; we will sign them up for government benefits…we will enroll kids into school”.

Manager of the Jewish Family Services Matt Stewart discussed another program they do, which is case management.

“Adding onto the community care program, we do case management”. Case management is a legal document for the government. 

While most are probably wondering how long the actual process is to get into the system of a new country, Valuyskaya explained the differences between a refugee and an asylum seeker as well.

“The average wait time for an individual in a refugee camp to process their claim and fly into a new country is twenty years…for asylum seekers it’s hard to track cause we can’t really track how long ago they left their country so we track from the moment they hit the border but it can still be years” Valuyskaya said. “[While] they’re in that process of obtaining asylum, they aren’t legally eligible to obtain any benefits, to work, that’s why shelters are essential to have a place to stay”.

Another program, manager Stewart discussed was the holocaust survivor program. “Our holocaust survivor program has around 75 here in the region,” Stewart said.  “The youngest is 79, and the oldest will be 115 in November. We also have a couple turning 115, 116. So, we’ve got some longevity in the program”.  Additionally, Stewart said the survivors in the program continue to get asked to tell their stories of the Holocaust.

When Valuyskaya and Stewart were asked about how important it is to keep getting volunteers throughout, they discussed the housing prices as a challenge for anyone.

“We appreciate it, this little campus we have here has kind of be our little saving grace as you know the housing prices really sucks,” Valuyskaya said. “It’s hard for anyone to find affordable decent housing so this has been our little safe haven at least for people who are single, a couple and they could stay here with leases starting at three months, not huge commitments prolong it as long as they need.”

Hilbert’s site leader at Jewish Family Services, Kera – Bush Turner, said if she had to encourage people to volunteer she would say that everyone has gotten help at least once in their lives, and helped someone else’s life to make a difference. “I believe that almost everyone has had a moment in their lives where they received help from someone,” Bush Turner said. “It’s that idea of “paying it forward” that can make such a difference in someone’s day or even life”.

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Hilbert College Football remains winless since the program started last year.

When the game first started on offense Hilbert was driving down the field but could not get the ball into the endzone. The Hawks threw 2 interceptions and could not move the ball passing or rushing following a 118-yard rushing performance last week against Alfred State from freshman running back Darion Reed.

Hilbert’s Taivaughn Roach, a Junior Linebacker, had 14 tackles against Endicott and would be #5 in the nation for Division 3 in total tackles if Hilbert was a part of a league. Another key performance was by transfer sophomore Bryce Robinson who racked up 4 receptions with 44 yards and is the leading the Hawks in receptions and yards.

Taivaughn Roach and Avante Hicks both said they have zero loss of faith in the coach’s game plan and talked about the struggles last season.

 “Right now, we are a young, new, and inexperienced team, we have a lot of talent on this football team, enough talent to be able to win but, as of right now we are just inexperienced,” Roach said. “We just have to take it day by day, get better every day and continue to push ourselves and be the hardest working team in the country because we know no one expects us to be great except ourselves and were just looking to prove all the naysayers wrong.”

Roach said, “losing has not shaken any of our confidence in Coach Edger or any of the coaches gameplan. “When you play at a high level of competition you can’t expect everything to go your way,” he said. “Every team has its ups and downs but were going to continue to improve day by day and were going to go out their next weekend against Gallaudet and try to come out with a W.”

 When asked about the defensive gameplan coming in Roach said, “Endicott is number 21 in the country and, the team knows they have an amazing coaching staff and great players, “So we came out with the mentality to be physical and play hard nose football, even when we were down,” Roach said. “We achieved those two feats because we stayed physical and didn’t give up”

 Roach said he has seen improvement from year one to year two. Said “As a team we are just more dedicated and want it more, we knew coming into this season that we are still a new team and the only people that believe in us are the people that made it through Fall Camp with us so we are going to continue to get better and go out there next weekend and get a W”

 Hicks said he is confident in his offensive coordinator Dallas Tidwell after the fans were frustrated after some questionable calls.

“There are a lot of people on the outside looking in, we on the offense believe and have faith in each other to go out there and play and coach to the best of our ability.

He said the team blocks out the negativity

“We have been hearing the comments about us losing but, we don’t pay any mind to any of the hate,” Hicks said. “We are only concerned with the people that matter which is the people who believe in us as a team.”

Hilbert College has fell to 0-4 on the year and our currently winless since football first arrived at the college but, they are very confident that they can be a force in Divison 3 football

This past Saturday, September 30^th, the Hilbert Hawks Football team took on Endicott College at Frontier Highschool. It was a tough loss for the Hawks, but still a memorable game. Along with-it being Alumni Weekend, Frontier Highschool’s prom king and queen made a reappearance.

Hawks’ wide receiver number 84, Brian Sylvia, got to play on his home field. Slyvia attended Frontier where he played for the football team. His senior season was cut short when he injured his leg during the homecoming game. Sylvia broke his fibula that game but was able to recover and play in playoffs at the Bills Stadium.

Brian’s number one supporter, Emily Weise was also in attendance at the game. She loves supporting Brian, and as she states, “I’ll go anywhere he goes. “Being able to beat Hamburg, Frontier’s biggest rival, was one of Emily’s favorite high school football game memories. She also enjoyed watching Brian play at the Bills Stadium senior year. 

Playing on his own home field, Brian stated, “it was fun to play where I left off in high school.” Being a fan back at her home field, Emily felt “very weird”, and she thought she’d never be back.

In the future Brian sees himself coming back as a mentor to other high school football players. Last year Brian had the opportunity to help coach a few practices with the Frontier football team. He hopes to continue and put to use his passion for football and be a coach in the future.

These prom king and queen, class of 2022 graduates were able to make a special memory this weekend. Neither were expecting to return back to their home field anytime soon. Nor were they expecting to have the opportunity to play and cheer, just like their days in high school.