North Central’s Tyson Education Center to benefit from local 5K

North Central College’s Dr. Lora L. Tyson Education Curriculum Resource Center will benefit from proceeds of a local 5K run/walk this June. The 5K event will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, June 1, and feature professional distance runner Adam Goucher, along with students, staff and families of Metea Valley High School in Aurora, Ill.

Tyson was a beloved associate professor of North Central College’s education department from 1999 to her death from cancer in 2008. Tyson’s mission was to make available all the resources a student majoring in education could need, and the Dr. Lora L. Tyson Education Curriculum Resource Center is the product of her vision. Housed in the College’s Oesterle Library, the Tyson Center offers a place for education majors to gather for discussions and immerse themselves in materials for planning and implementing lessons, ranging from high school student textbooks to young adult literature.

The decision to donate the money raised from the 5K run/walk to the Tyson Center was influenced by Eric Anerino, a nephew of Tyson, who has a passion for literature and athletics. Anerino is an English teacher and cross country coach at Metea Valley High School. The funds will allow the Center to expand and provide more resources to the next generation of educators.

Leading up to the 5K, students and staff at the high school will be engaged in a school-wide reading program centered on Adam Goucher’s book, “Running The Edge.” Goucher competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and his book is a self-help guide that encourages readers to push the limits of every pursuit in life.

“Our hope is that ‘Running The Edge’ will be a beneficial initiative that brings the entire school community together,” says Anerino. “This program does not stop on page 228 of the book but takes the form of true action by coming together for a community-wide 5K run/walk.”

Participants can register for the 5K run/walk at metealiferun.com; registration closes at 11:59 p.m. Thursday, May 30. Cost is $25/person.


By Troy Kelleher ’16