Part of our internship program involves each intern writing a blog about a particular topic they’ve learned or discovered. For this one, Emily Wilbur, a Kinesiology and Exercise Science major at IUPUI, wrote:
I have been with Nine13sports for about three months now and I have loved every minute of it. This past Tuesday, we were at an elementary school working with second through fourth graders. It was time to switch stations and all of the kids ran over to our bikes except one little girl.
I found out her name was Emily also. She was scared and nervous because she had never been on a bicycle before. The little boy next to her kept asking why she didn’t have a bike at home like all the other kids. You could tell Emily was embarrassed that she didn’t have a bicycle to call her own. After learning the rules, the kids got on the bikes and Emily’s whole demeanor changed. She was excited and happy to be riding a bike.
Kids Riding Bikes is more than just riding bikes; it’s about facilitating to our youth the importance of teamwork, hard work, perseverance, and resiliency.
One of the races, she came in third or fourth place and was ecstatic. The little boy next to her also changed his attitude. He became encouraging and even said, “Wow Emily, for not riding a bike before you’re doing great!” I wish everyone could’ve seen the look on her face. It was like his comment made her entire day.
Looking back, I’m sure Emily will not even remember this day but I will always recall it. It really put some perspective on my life. Sometimes we tend to take little things, like owning a bike, for granted. I have always been a big believer in helping others whenever I can and this internship has helped me realize that I can help in more ways than I think.
I look forward to making more memories and learning new things with each passing day spent here at Nine13sports. The thing I love most about this program is that it’s all about the kids. The staff encourage and support every child on our bikes to finish the race and give their best effort. It’s more than just riding bikes, it’s about teaching children valuable life lessons such as teamwork, commitment, and hard work.