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10th annual Tom Waddell Symposium for Sports and Values at Springfield College

Purposeful Work
ESPN’s Kris Rhim ’21 Seeks a More Level Playing Field Through Sports
Friday, April 11, 2025, 1:30 p.m.
Cleveland E. and Phyllis B. Dodge Room, Flynn Campus Union

Playing Above the Rhim
Long before Kris Rhim’s one-year fellowship with the New York Times and his current work covering the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN, he was determined to do—as he memorably said in a class—“purposeful work.” At Springfield College, that took a number of forms. Rhim was a four-year member of the track and field team. He was elected student trustee. He was the president of the Men of Excellence club. He contributed regularly to student media, including the newspaper and SCTV3. He and Professor Marty Dobrow hosted a podcast called “Liberty, Justice, and Ball” on the intersection of basketball and social justice. He participated in a spring break civil rights tour. As a senior, he was named the winner of the Tom Waddell Leveling the Playing Field Award for his many contributions on campus.

In the almost four years since his graduation, he has blazed an impressive path. This included his fellowship at the Times, where he covered a wide array of stories ranging from an analysis of Tom Brady’s last year in the NFL to WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release from a Russian prison. More recently, he has been ESPN’s beat writer for the Chargers. He regularly appears on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” Rhim’s presentation will focus on how to find a larger sense of purpose within the sports world.

At the conclusion of the presentation, a current Springfield College student-athlete will be recognized with the Tom Waddell Leveling the Playing Field Award. This annual award goes to a student-athlete who has worked diligently to build a fairer and more just world.

Presented by the Division of Campus Life and Inclusion and the Department of Athletics, this event is free and open to the #SpringfieldCollege community and the public.

Supported by the Dr. Tom Waddell ’59 Fund.For more information on the fund, or to make a gift, visit springfield.edu/giving.

For more information, please contact the Division of Campus Life and Inclusion at
campuslife@springfield.edu or (413) 748-3100. To request an accommodation to participate in a college event, or inquire about accessibility, please contact the Academic Success Center Disability and Accessibility Services at ascdas@springfieldcollege.edu or (413) 748-3389.

Sugarcane
Documentary Film Screening and Q&A

Tuesday, April 8, 5–7:30 pm.
Cleveland E. and Phyllis B. Dodge Room, Flynn Campus Union

Come join us in watching Sugarcane and participating in a Q&A with panelists Rhonda Anderson (Iñupiaq – Athabascan), founder and former co-director of Ohketeau Cultural Center and Native Youth Empowerment Foundation; Anthony Melting Tallow (Siksika Blackfoot First Nation), visual artist and writer; and Chris Newell, founding director of the Native American Cultural Program at the University of Connecticut and co-founder/director of Education at Akomawt Educational Initiative.

Sugarcane, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is a stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life. Set amidst a groundbreaking investigation into abuse and death at an Indian residential school, the film is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning.

In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves near a residential school run by the Catholic church in Canada sparked a national outcry about the forced separation, assimilation, and abuse many children experienced at this network of segregated boarding schools designed to slowly destroy the culture and social fabric of Indigenous communities. When Kassie, a journalist and filmmaker, asked her old friend and colleague, NoiseCat, to direct a film documenting the Williams Lake First Nation investigation of St. Joseph’s Mission, she never imagined just how close this story was to his own family. During the filming, Kassie and NoiseCat encountered both the extraordinary pain these individuals had to suppress as a tool for survival and the unique beauty of a group of people finding the strength to persevere.

This event is free and open to the #SpringfieldCollege community and the public.
If you have a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to fully participate in this event, please contact Wendy Franz as soon as possible at wfranz@springfield.edu or (413) 748-3646 to discuss your accessibility needs.

Ramadan America
Movie, Culture, Society
Film Screening and Q&A with Executive Producer Asad Butt

Monday, April 21, 2025, Noon to 2:30 p.m. at the Appleton Auditorium, Fuller Arts Center

Come join us in watching Ramadan America and having a Q&A with the film’s executive producer, Asad Butt, on the creative process of making this first-of-its-kind production, written, directed, and starring American Muslims.🎬✨

Ramadan America features five stories set during Ramadan and Eid in America. The film spans multiple genres, themes, and cultural nuances in an effort to showcase what Ramadan and Eid mean to different Muslims. The films collectively celebrate stories of love, family, and tradition.

Ramadan America is a production of Rifelion Media. 🎥 🍿🌟

This event is free and open to the #SpringfieldCollege community and the public.

Sponsored by the Springfield College Department of Literature, Writing, and Journalism; Department of Business Management; Honors Program; Division of Campus Life and Inclusion; Doggett International Center; and the International Student Organization

Check out the trailer: https://lnkd.in/e7JeNaXH