The SNHU Esports team traveled to Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont on November 11, to compete and raise money for Extralife, a charity that supports Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. They competed in matches versus the Champlain College Esports (CCE) varsity Overwatch team. Part of the roster that visited Champlain, was Kayleigh Philip, a senior studying Communication with a minor in Esports.
“I only joined Esports in January of 2023, after taking the Esports streaming and marketing class offered that semester,” said Philip. “I started working in the Connection Esports Arena shortly after and saw that this was an industry that I would want to go into, which lead to my increased involvement in Esports related activities.”
Originally, the Extralife event hosted by CCE was without a friendly match between SNHU Esports and Champlain College Esports. However, events manager Sean Lightbody had the idea to collaborate with CCE in order to bring more attention to the charity event.
“Sean came up with the idea of heading there for a friendly match to help raise more money and give players more of a LAN experience. So we piled into two cars and went to Burlington, Vermont to help out,” says Philip. “We we apart of this 48 hour stream with the intent to raise $4,000 over the course of it. In the end, Champlain was able to raise over $5,000, and we actually hit the goal of $4,000 while in the last match”
Kayleigh has also been organizing a new Esports club for those interested in competing at a club level.
“The Esports club was planned over the summer between the Director of Esports, myself, and other interested students. This club was created to have a inclusive space for people that wanted to join Esports,” says Philip.
“I would love to do more events that give collegiate players the opportunity to go out to LAN,” said Philip. “I have met so many incredible people in this journey, many of them now really good friends. The energy and passion that I see from all of them is just so invigorating, and I have been to places and events that I never thought I would be able to go to, such as this charity event in Vermont or the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX).”
