Submitted photo YSU’s Paulina Hernandez (back-center), Brooke Adkins (bottom-left) and Casey Santoro (bottom-right) pose for a photo with their youth basketball camp participants as they show off their basketball shoes at the end of May in El Seibo, Dominican Republic.

YOUNGSTOWN — Despite growing up in Wisconsin, Paulina Hernandez has always felt close to her ancestral ties in the Dominican Republic.

Her parents and most of her family are from the Caribbean island, and after a trip there during her senior year of high school, the Youngstown State senior forward wanted to figure out a way to give back.

What started as a basketball shoe donation drive has now turned into an annual girls youth basketball camp that she helps host in the city of El Seibo in the middle of the island.

“My dad took me to go see the girls’ basketball practice, and some of the girls were wearing like Converse or Crocs, and it really touched me and made me realize how grateful and fortunate we are [as college athletes] to just be gifted shoes or have our parents be able to buy us shoes,” Hernandez said. “I told my dad that truly affected me, and I wanted to make a difference over there.”

This year, Hernandez and two of her Penguins teammates collected basketball shoe donations and took them to El Seibo, where they served as camp counselors for a two-day girls youth basketball camp at the end of May.

“I started collecting used basketball shoes and donations, and I was able to bring them in duffel bags for the girls, and they were really grateful for it,” Hernandez said. “It touched me, and then the year after that, I was like, ‘Why don’t I just create a camp and show them our skills for free and just keep collecting donations?’ Without our donors and people who’ve been giving us stuff, we wouldn’t be able to do any of this.”

Last year, Hernandez hosted the camp with her older sister, Nicole, a former college basketball player at Lindenwood and Minnesota-Crookston, and former YSU guard Bella Samz. This year, she went with sophomore Brooke Adkins and now-graduated Casey Santoro.

“I think it’s been so cool to have her bring some of her teammates, and I think that also speaks to our chemistry and our camaraderie amongst our group,” YSU coach Melissa Jackson said. “So I was really touched with what they were doing and how they were doing it, raising all the awareness they did. Then it was awesome to see our community here in Youngstown really back them this year and help support them, whether that’s with shoes or donations to help their travel.”

During the two-day camp, the Penguins helped the girls improve their fundamental basketball skills, such as shooting, ball handling, passing, defense, footwork and other essential skills that could apply on and off the court.

YSU does its own youth camp every summer for the local community once the team returns to campus, so they all have experience teaching and coaching young kids. Getting another opportunity to work with kids was something they all enjoyed.

“I love working with kids, especially seeing how happy they get when they do good,” Adkins said. “Just showing them that hard work goes a long way, and when you put effort into it, you get something out of it in return.”

For Adkins and Santoro, getting the chance to travel overseas to the Dominican Republic, meet new people, try new foods and experience a new culture was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“I’m just grateful I got to go, and I got to help out kids who are trying to learn the game of basketball and are trying to become better,” Adkins said. “Honestly, seeing a whole different culture that I’m not used to here, I’m just grateful I had the opportunity to go and help those people.”