On Friday, May 2, Worcester State University hosted Pen Pals Field Day, celebrating the end of this year’s student-athlete correspondence program with May Street School’s fourth-grade class.
After exchanging monthly letters throughout the academic year, the college students and their elementary school pen pals met in person for the first time on the university’s turf field for a morning filled with fun games.
“It’s a fourth-grade standard for the students in ELA to write a friendly letter,” said Worcester State alumna and May Street School fourth-grade teacher Kailee Smith. “This program allows them to practice their writing skills while also staying in touch with the community around them. Their writing really progresses—if you compare the very first letter they wrote in September to the last one, you can see how their writing skills have improved. And they really look forward to it.”
During her own time as a Worcester State student-athlete, Smith participated in the pen pal program. Now she helps coordinate it every year. Students wore big smiles while running across the turf field during the kickoff game, “Fishy, Fishy, Cross My Ocean.” Following the game of group tag, students played kickball, spikeball, raced on the track, and spent time getting to know each other.
Among them was Jordyn Bolduc ’27, a member of the Worcester State field hockey team who enjoyed getting to know a soccer player at May Street School throughout the year as they discussed sports and friends in their letters.
A fifth-year graduate student on the ice hockey team, Amy MacGlashing, received a teddy bear named Cocoa from her pen pal. “I saw my other friends giving their pen pals gifts, and I wanted to give Amy one, too,” said the May Street School student. What was the best part of the day for this fourth grader? Meeting Amy in person, “but definitely not leaving,” she said.
Kelly Downs, the coordinator of student-athlete support services and the head women’s lacrosse coach, started the pen pal program in 2015, making this year its 10th anniversary.
“Part of my job is to help our academics, but I noticed we didn’t do much community service in the department,” said Downs. “I thought this program would be a great way for all the sports to give back—especially with May Street School being right next door to us.”
This year, three Worcester State student-athletes are teaching at May Street School. “Education majors are required to complete student teaching before graduating, and we have students teaching there every year,” said Downs. “It’s a great relationship we are building.”
Abby Vincent ’26 and Emma LaPoint ’26 are the current co-presidents of the pen pal program. LaPoint plays on the softball team, and Vincent is a member of the women’s lacrosse team. “I personally love the program—it’s a great opportunity for the students to come over and see what goes on at the university,” said Vincent.
“We get to learn more about the May Street students over the year, and then we meet them and have fun together,” LaPoint added. Vincent recalled her favorite letter arriving around the holidays; “My pen pal knows I love the beach, so she drew me a Christmas tree in the sand and wrote ‘Merry Christmas!’ —she made a whole Christmas card for me.”
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