THIBODAUX ā ¹ū¶³APP has dedicated the Harold J. Callais Memorial Recreation Centerās gymnasium in honor of Michael Childs, an alumnus who was instrumental in rallying students in support of the facility.
After the first proposal for a student-funded rec center failed by fewer than 20 student votes, Childs ā a Student Government Association senator ā collected 1,000 signatures on his petition to put the recreation center back on the student ballot in fall 2002. Thanks in large part to Childsā tenacity and passionate spirit, the referendum passed overwhelmingly, and the state-of-the-art recreation center opened in August 2012.
Childs, a management major who attended ¹ū¶³APP from 2001ā2003, died in July 2006 while trying to rescue someone from drowning. During the gymnasium dedication ceremony on Saturday, March 9, ¹ū¶³APP administrators, Childsā family and his Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity brothers remembered him as a driven, charismatic young man who left a long-lasting campus legacy.
āEvery day when I walk in this building, I thank Mike,ā said Michael Matherne, director of campus recreation. āIf not for him, Iād still be operating campus recreation out of the pool office. Now, thereās not a day that goes by where at least 800 students donāt come through these doors ā 1,200 on intramural nights. Weāre changing lives here.ā