April 27, 2009

Garden City, N.Y. - Some know him as Alvin, others call him AV3, meaning, "Alvin for 3", as his teammates would say, but Alvin Vivican III is a young man who plays different roles in the lives of others. He is a student and basketball player at Adelphi, works three different jobs and is a father figure to his two younger sisters.

As far as basketball is concerned, Alvin has been playing since the age of 6. His favorite basketball players are Michael Jordan and Kevin Garnett and his favorite team is the Boston Celtics. As a sophomore, he transferred from Suffolk Country Community College to Adelphi University in the Fall 2006 semester.

His performance and leadership granted him the position of being the team captain his junior and senior years. When asked about his last season as an Adelphi Basketball player, where the team did well, finishing with a 20-9 record, he replied, "We underachieved in the season because the lack of consistency. It was like a roller coaster because it had its ups and downs. It did get better in the end but our problem was that we would play good in the first half and then slack in second." The team went on to play in the East Coast Conference (ECC) playoffs and lost in semi finals. As for incoming freshmen, Alvin advises them to, "Have a plan. It is never too early to start planning."

Although Alvin is a devoted basketball player, he still finds time to excel academically. He plans to graduate with a 3.5 grade point average. He also has plans on staying at Adelphi for graduate school. "I'm not ready to go into the work force, due to the economy." Some camps have also approach Alvin about playing basketball overseas, so is another option for "AV3."

As if being a student athlete isn't enough, Alvin helps out a lot at home, providing for his mother and sisters. His mother is a correctional officer at Rikers Island, which makes for busy and stressful days. He has 17-year old twin sisters, Patricia and Patrice Crosby, which he makes a top priority. When asked how an average day goes for him, Alvin responded with a hectic schedule. It usually consists of school work, basketball practice, running back and forth from Garden City to the Bronx to check in on his sisters and working one of three jobs. Alvin does stats and scheduling at Island Garden in West Hempstead, New York and does clerical work at Adelphi's Office of Public Affairs and field security at athletic events on campus.

When looking at a book, it's hard to judge what's on the inside. A book could consist of many different problems and adventures, but you will never know until you read it. Alvin is an example of that book that portrays a basketball player in college, but inside, there is so much more to his story.

Richard Godden is a sophomore communications major at Adelphi University.