Sept. 12, 2007

By Jillian Jakuba, Bucknell Athletic Communications

Before returning to the confines of Davis Gym this past August, where she and the rest of the Bucknell volleyball squad were hard at work preparing for the 2007 season, senior co-captain Jenna Henderson was expanding her knowledge of the world and trying to make a difference at the same time. Henderson was in Nicaragua with the Bucknell Brigade program.

"It's part Brigade and part class," she explains. "We actually earned credit for being down there. It was a geography class where we learned about grassroots development. The other half of it was basically community service, which is what the Brigade does."

Henderson and the other 18 or so Bucknell students who were part of the Brigade did the majority of their community service work at a medical clinic - university physician Dr. Don Stechschulte was with the group and examined patients for no charge.

"We installed water tanks so that the medical clinic would always have water, since reliable water sources can be hard to come by," explains Henderson. "Our group tested water in and around Managua to see if what they were getting was OK to drink or not. We found some places that definitely weren't, so we educated the people on how they could correct the problem by filtering, for instance. We also worked with a herbalist to make affordable medicines out of things that the people in the community could grow themselves."

Henderson became interested in the program after hearing about it from some of her peers who had previously been a part of Bucknell Brigade and raved about it. After seeing a campus e-mail, Henderson signed up for the unique opportunity that even went beyond what her friends had experienced.

"Before, the program had only gone to Nicaragua during winter and spring breaks," she says. "This was the first year that they offered the actual course in Nicaragua. "

Spending more than just a week away from the comforts of home gave Henderson a different perspective on other areas of the world.

"I feel like I didn't really think about how other people were living and how what we do affects them, even just small things," she admits. "I didn't realize these people were in such poverty. It kind of made me realize how lucky I am. I feel like I have a responsibility to help since I am in a more fortunate situation."

One of the most shocking experiences for Henderson during her trip was a visit to the Managua City Dump where she saw people living amongst the refuse.

"They squat on the property and get their food, literally, from the garbage people that throw out," she explains. "In addition, they burn their garbage in Nicaragua, so there are things that are on fire right next to where these people are living. They have their houses that they've constructed out of cardboard, out of tin roofing, anything they can find. It was a hard thing to see."

After an eye-opening summer, Henderson is back in a more familiar setting, on the court helping the Bison to victory. The 2006 First Team All-Patriot League selection recently set a personal milestone with her 1,000th career kill and could reach the same plateau in digs before the year is out. Henderson is among elite company as her single-season total of 403 kills in 2006 ranks fifth in program history, and she is close to breaking into the top-five in the same category on the career side.

Behind Henderson's strong performance, the Bucknell volleyball team is off to a strong start this fall, even after graduating three starters and a libero from the 2006 squad that went all the way to the Patriot League final.

One of two seniors on this year's team, Henderson is often the nucleus of the Bison offense night-after-night. Through two weekends of play, she averaged 4.55 kills per game. Henderson is reluctant to take any credit, however.

"This year has been surprising so far," she says. "We've had new talent coming in. We have great freshmen. In addition, there are returnees who are stepping up. I feel like everyone is really contributing. There's a special something that's hard to explain. Even just in practice you can see the fire. Everyone is out there giving their all on every play."

She admits that it hasn't been easy, however. "We did lose a lot of people who had court experience. It was hard losing four people who were used to starting and bringing in people who didn't have as much time on the court. As of right now, everyone has really risen to the challenge. We had a pretty good weekend to start out. We were really close against Air Force, and even though we didn't come away with the win it was really good to see that it was a fight to the end. We didn't give up and we didn't get scared."

In sports, leaders are often anointed based on their on-field performances or locker room stature. Fortunately for the Bison volleyball squad Bucknell nurtures leaders in many unconventional ways, and perhaps the fearlessness Henderson developed while assisting the less fortunate in Nicaragua has rubbed off on the rest of the Bison.