Saint Joseph's Athletics Hall of Famer Vince Papale '68 was a guest speaker for close to 40 Hawk student-athletes at the Center for Developing Everyday Champions Initiative and Reflection night.

Papale, who was joined by his wife Janet, talked to the Hawks about his family and upbringing, his time on Hawk Hill and his career with the Philadelphia Eagles. He cited coaches such as Jack Ramsay, Kevin Quinn and Dick Vermeil as some of the greatest influences in his life.

Papale's message to the student-athletes was one of overcoming adversity and achieving your dreams, using the quote “teamwork makes dreamwork” as the theme. He also answered questions from the SJU student-athletes before they watched the major motion picture “Invincible”, the story of Papale's journey in playing for the Eagles.

Developing Everyday Champions enriches the lives of student-athletes by integrating sports, life and faith.  Student-athletes have the opportunity to learn skills, build community and reflect on life experience through programming in the following areas: Academic; Athletic; Spiritual; Personal; and Professional.

The next event for the DEC will be the Commissioning Ceremony on November 9 at 7 p.m. in the Chapel.