The Fresno City College women’s soccer and cheer team visited Fremont Elementary School for National Read Across America Week which began on Dr. Seuss’s birthday, March 2. The annual celebration created by the National Education Association promotes reading to children and young adults.

FCC cheer base player Ailyn Jimenez said that reading in front of elementary schoolers felt similar to the ram’s cheer routines. 

“You have an audience so you just want to be smiling at all times, giving them full energy,” Jimenez said.

Jimenz was once in the students’ position when cheerleaders from her nearby high school would read to her when she was a child. She was glad to be the one reading this time.

Ailyn Jimenez reading “Be Strong” by Pat Zietlow to students at Fremont Elementary on March 3. (Photo by: Sara B. Cisneros)

Athletes were given several children’s books to choose from that were compiled by Fremont’s librarian, Marie Callahan.

She said that diversity was something she and her team looked for when picking out books.

Jimenez read “Be Strong” by Pat Zietlow. She said she chose that book because it reminded her 

of what it’s like being a cheerleader.

Callahan said she’s participated in Read Across America for 10 years, the same amount of time that she’s worked as a librarian at Fremont Elementary.

“They look forward to it. They’re always asking ‘when is Read Across America?’ So they love this day. And then we also have activities that go with it, like today will be ‘write a positive message with chalk on the sidewalk.’ Yesterday was ‘color a bookmark’ so we have different days,” Callahan said.

Two players of the FCC Women’s Soccer team were excited to read to the students of Fremont Elementary. 

Ashtyn Edwards is a kinesiology major who plays center back for the Rams, and Alyssa Hernandez is a liberal arts major who also plays center back.

(Left to right) Alyssa Hernandez and Ashtyn Edwards outside of the classroom at Fremont Elementary, holding up the books that they had read to students. Taken on March 3. (Photo by: Juan Muratalla)

Both players picked books that were read to them as kids. 

“My mom would read to me when I was really little, and it was probably my favorite book she would read, and she’d do all the voices for all the characters,” Edwards said. 

She read “Put Me In the Zoo” by Robert Lopshire.

Ashtyn Edwards reading a book to a group of students at Fremont Elementary on March 3. (Photo by: Juan Muratalla)

Edwards said this book encouraged her to read as a child.

“I feel like it’s just a book that made me like to read. So I wanted to bring it to all the little elementary schoolers to maybe give them that same effect,” Edwards said.

Alyssa Hernandez laughing and reading to a group of students at Fremont Elementary on March 3. (Photo by: Juan Muratalla)

Hernandez chose two books to read.  

“I chose ‘Biscuit,’ and ‘There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed  A Clover’ because it’s March and St Patrick’s Day,” Hernandez said. 

She believes these books are a must read when you are young. 

“They’re both staple books when [you’re] little. And Biscuits, parents read it to you, like a nighttime kind of thing. And then the old lady one was just what I would read at school a lot when I was little, and it’s fun,” Hernandez said.