Volleyball: Harper making an impact on and off the court

All it took was one visit to Africa for the desire to help others to take control of… All it took was one visit to Africa for the desire to help others to take control of her.

Imani Harper, a junior on the Pitt women’s volleyball team, has always had a heart for the world — and she doesn’t want to stop helping when she graduates.

“I’ve always viewed the world differently than everyone else,” she said. “It was never just within Pittsburgh or even the United States. I always viewed it as the world in general.”

Harper visited Senegal with her grandmother and mother after her sophomore year of high school. While there, she visited an orphanage. She admits her preset idea of an orphanage coincided more with “Oliver Twist” than anything else.

“I was almost in tears on the way there because I said, ‘I don’t want to see sad kids, I don’t want to do this,’” Harper said.

When she arrived, however, she saw that the kids loved life. They played and smiled when they saw her.

“That’s what made me appreciate why they were there,” she said. “I went on to thinking that it’s something cool, that kids are given up every day and this is a place for them to grow up.”

Harper said all these factors contribute to her goal in life. She wants to work with orphans in Africa who have AIDS.

But until she achieves that goal after graduation, Harper wants to volunteer as much as possible around Pittsburgh.

“The things that she does, the volleyball camps she’s worked with, is great,” head coach Toby Rens said. “She really embodies the idea of the student-athlete, and she’s someone who gets it done on the volleyball court.”

Harper took a unique sense of giving from her trip to Africa.

Since coming to Pitt, Harper has volunteered extensively in the area. Her commitment to public service is a rarity in a life dominated by an endless routine of practicing, school work and matches.

Harper said she gets her volunteering ideas from Charles Small, the assistant director of the Life Skills program at the University. Her favorite programs are the ones that involve children.

“I love playing with them. A child’s smile can brighten up my day,” Harper said.

One of her favorite experiences took place last year when she went to Children’s Hospital in Oakland to color with kids in the hospital.

“We used to just go there and color with the kids, and it was so fun to me,” she said. “It was so fun just to go back to your childhood and color a picture and to give that picture to a kid — they love getting that.”

Harper enjoys when the kids she works with consider her a role model.

“I can show them that I’m a Pitt athlete, and I do this and you can look up to me for that,” Harper said. “That’s how you can get a lot of people to look up to you, and they look up to you not only because you’re an athlete, but you’re a person helping them.”

Harper became a starting middle hitter for Pitt this season. It is her first season starting with the Panthers. Last year, she only played in 20 sets. This year, she helped the Panthers win nearly 20 matches.

She’s a vocal leader on the court.

“She can be a very big catalyst for the rest of the team,” Rens said. “She’s focused, and it’s nice to have her in that position.”

On the court, she’s a blocking machine for the Panthers (18-8 overall, 10-2 Big East).

Her 6-foot frame and long, lanky arms provide the perfect body type for a middle hitter. She is second on the team in blocks, averaging 1.16 per set. The Panthers are eighth in the country, averaging 2.82 blocks per set.

“From my experience of being blocked, I understand how it feels, and I personally hate it,” she said. “It’s almost like access denied, and you are sending a message when you block someone straight down to where the ball is unplayable. It’s the most exciting part of the game.”

Many athletes spend their downtime in other ways. But Harper is unique in that her time is spent helping others.