​Student-Athletes Come Together to Help Fellow Student

Kelsey Bains, Santiago Canyon College (SCC) head athletic trainer, remembers the day when she saw a group of athletes step up to lend a helping hand to a fellow SCC student.

When on campus, Bains is usually helping student-athletes who are recovering from injuries. One day while Bains was in her office in the gym, a group of athletes came rushing into the room looking for her. The athletes asked her to come with them because they had found a girl locked in the bathroom who would not come out. Bains went into the bathroom and just started talking to the girl who was very upset. Once they started to talk, Bains discovered that this student was homeless and she did not have anywhere else to go.

This student started to feel comfortable enough with Bains that she finally came out of the stall. Bains invited the student to use the locker room shower to clean up and gave her new clothes to wear while they washed hers. One athlete who was there even took off her shoes and gave them to this girl without a second thought. While Bains was talking to this student, she discovered the student had good grades in all of her classes, but did not know about the benefits she, as a student, had. The athletes and Bains encouraged her to get help from Student Health and Wellness Services.

Bains was thankful she was in the right place at the right time and was also happy that the first person that the athletes thought of to get help for this student was her. She was filled with so much pride that athletes she interacts with on a daily basis came together to help someone they did not know. Bains said, “I saw a perfect demonstration of a group of people coming together in a community.”