Acorn

Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Joanna Whitney Tremaine Young relates his future career plans to Dean Williams at his farewell gathering in Commons 209. Young plans to move down to North Carolina on Feb. 8 to continue his efforts in chiropracting.

Drew University bids farewell to unquestionably the greatest campus recreation and club sports director in school history. At just 30 years old, Tremaine Young lifted the intramural sports program off the ground with his youthful exuberance and unparalleled passion for athletics.

"In my humble opinion, he's the best intramural director I've seen," Drew personal trainer Chris Ryan said. "He's passionate about fitness and recreation, and he wants the students to be as passionate as he is. But he also wants them to have fun while doing so."

When Young first arrived at Drew in 2005, intramural sports were about as lifeless and unpromising on campus as the Miami Dolphins' 1-15 season. Once Young took over, everything changed.

"Where the program was when I first got here, and where it is now, is like night and day," Young said. "There weren't many organized clubs at all a few years ago."

Since Young's arrival, club sports have improved in all areas. Not only did Young institute higher-qualified teachers to instruct classes, but he also contributed by helping to enhance facilities and create three entirely new club sports, including a running club, step team, and kumdo.

"Everyone's been really supportive," Young said. "The students were the ones that helped me establish these club sports by having the willingness and dedication to participate."

Young's relationship with the student body enabled him to connect with each person individually and address his or her needs accordingly.

"I'm really going to miss the students," Young said. "It's a tough decision that I have to make. Drew will always be in my heart, and the students make it that way. They've changed me, and hopefully I've made an impression on them."

One of the reasons that Young feels he is able to relate to the students so effectively is his age.

"I feel almost as if I'm a graduating senior," he said. "But I'll try to keep in contact with as many people as I can."

Continued...

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