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Share thisShe Puts The 'S-u-e' in Super Fan
Susan Coller arrived on the campus of Roberts Wesleyan College as a 17-year-old in the summer of 1964.
One of 24 graduates of Lisbon Central School that June, Coller decided to attend Roberts because a friend's uncle taught History there, and she immediately questioned her choice of school. She was about five hours from home and she was homesick.
"I cried every day until February of my freshman year," she recalled.
Those tears eventually turned to cheers, and today - nearly 60 years later - Sue Coller Harkins remains one of the most beloved and passionate supporters of her alma mater and its student-athletes.
Coller attended church while growing up and was looking to grow her faith as a college student, so she began attending prayer meetings led by Professor Stanley Magill and Harry F. Anderson, Roberts' long-time cross country and track and field coach.
"After the second or third week, I thought 'I am going to watch these guys because they seem like they know the Lord with the way that they pray,'" she said. "They showed me what it was like to be a Christian."
Coller, an English major, began to settle in on campus. A self-described "competitor" at a time before women's sports were offered, Coller became active in intramurals and played basketball, volleyball and softball.
The director of intramurals was a fellow English major by the name of Glenn Harkins, whom Coller dated briefly.
"He refereed all of the games," she said of Glenn, who graduated in 1967, "and I never got any calls."
In January of 1968, Coller saw Harkins at a men's basketball game. At the urging of friends, she reluctantly approached him, and they started to talk. One thing led to another.
"He gave me my diamond in March, I graduated in May and we were married in August," she says.
A shared passion
In addition to sharing a love for the Lord and a love for each other, Glenn and Sue Harkins shared a passion for sports.
Glenn worked as an English teacher in the Brockport Central School District for 35 years and taught at SUNY Brockport for another 10 following his retirement. He was a long-time member of the Section V Boys Basketball Committee, serving as director of media relations from 1996-2007, and was inducted into the Section V Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
Sue worked as a sales correspondent, financial aid director at Roberts and special education teacher for the Rochester City School District.
Sue, who was the first freshman to make the varsity cheerleading squad at her high school, also poured her energy into Roberts and its athletic teams. Glenn, who grew up in Pennsylvania and was an avid fan of Pittsburgh's professional sports franchises, also supported his alma mater, working several years as a volunteer sports information director and public address announcer.
Glenn and Sue had two daughters, Emily, now 48, and Elissa, 46. The Harkins family spent so much time at Roberts, which was an NAIA institution at the time, that they began to develop personal relationships with some of the student-athletes. They opened their home to teams for meals and a few athletes even stayed with them when they had housing or financial troubles.
Rob McCoy arrived at Roberts from Buffalo as a wide-eyed freshman basketball player in 1976 and is the longest-tenured men's basketball coach in program history, having retired in 2016 after 16 seasons on the bench.
He remembers eating at the Harkins' home, babysitting for their children and house sitting when they were on vacation.
He appreciates all of the support that Sue has given him as an athlete, coach and now, radio analyst, for Roberts.
"She's genuine," McCoy says. "She's going to be there all of the time and she is going to be the same no matter what is going on. She's faithful and loyal and she is going to do whatever she can to help you."
Before she became a three-time Olympian as a pole vaulter, Jenn Suhr was a record-breaking basketball player at Roberts, setting school standards for points, rebounds, assists and steals prior to graduating in 2004.
Suhr, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist who has returned to her alma mater as a coach, remembers Sue Harkins well.
"Very hospitable," Suhr said. "She would have us over for dinner and she would bring us things like cookies and snacks, just trying to make it a home away from home. She was always there to try and make Roberts feel like it was home and if somebody did not have someone around, she was always there for them."
And she was not hard to find. Harkins used to bring a 7-inch cowbell to games until a referee told her that artificial noisemakers were not allowed.
"We would hear that in the stands and know that she was there," Suhr said.
While Glenn and Sue supported all of the Roberts teams and student-athletes, Sue paid particularly close attention to those who were farther away from home.
"Any athlete from out of the state or out of the country, they especially need love and attention," she said.
Jeremiah Ochepo is one of the many student-athletes who has formed a special bond with Harkins.
Born in Nigeria, Ochepo attended high school on Long Island and came to Roberts in 2016 to study Business Administration and play soccer. He first met Harkins at a basketball game and the two have remained close through the years.
"She is one of a kind," Ochepo said. "She's a blessing to the Roberts community and I think that it is safe to say that not a lot people who have walked around that campus have the kind of heart that she does."
Ochepo earned a Master's degree from Roberts in 2022 and is currently studying for his second Master's at Fitchburg State in Massachusetts. He makes a point of speaking with Harkins at least once a month.
"Her words mean a lot to me and I call her for motherly advice," Ochepo said. "I keep in touch with her even more than I keep in touch with some of my teammates, that's how important she is to me."
Becoming 'Aunt Sue'
Sue recalls chatting with a group of Roberts' student-athletes near the front desk of the Voller Athletic Center on a crisp late-fall evening back in the year 2000.
"Mrs. Harkins," one of them said as they began to ask a question.
"Wait a minute! Time out!" Harkins interjected. "Mrs. Harkins is my name when I am wearing my teacher hat and I'm not wearing that right now."
"So, what should we call you?" they asked.
"I don't care, call me 'Aunt Gert' or 'Aunt Myrtle' or whatever," she responded. "One of the kids knew that my name was Sue, so she said 'how about Aunt Sue?' And I said, 'yeah, whatever' and I have been Aunt Sue ever since."
It's a role that Harkins takes seriously.
In addition to attending as many sporting events as possible through the years, Aunt Sue asks incoming players on the men's and women's basketball teams to share their home address and birthdays with her so that she can introduce herself to their parents and deliver birthday cakes to them on campus.
"I was looking for different ways to connect with the kids and let them know that I was thinking about them and praying for them," she said. "I am one that likes to have parties and celebrate and I want to help them celebrate their birthdays."
Her introductory letter includes her business card that lists her as "Sue/Aunt Sue, Avid Roberts fan" and she lets parents know that she will be there to support and pray for their children. The card provides her email address, phone number and mailing address so that parents can contact her.
Mark Saladzius first met Aunt Sue as a freshman basketball player in 2005 and has been on campus ever since. Saladzius scored more than 1,000 points and grabbed over 500 rebounds as a player, served nine seasons as an assistant coach and recently completed his sixth season as the Redhawks' head men's basketball coach.
"Everybody knew her," Saladzius said. "You went over to her house for dinner, you put your name in the book and you knew that every time your birthday came around that you were going to have a freshly baked cake waiting for you."
Each cake includes a card with this message:
"Please know that I'm praying this prayer EVERY DAY.
Dear Lord,
Please give each Roberts athlete a hunger for You, for Your Truth, and a strong desire to read the Bible. Help each one of them to know that You love him/her very much. Also, please help each coach to honor You in all they say and do. In Your dear Name I pray. Amen."
"She really is a 'Prayer Warrior' for the student-athletes," Executive Director of Athletics Bob Segave said. "She cares deeply for them and has made life-long relationships with so many athletes."
"She's just a staple and she has the best jacket that anybody has in here," Saladzius says.
About that jacket
Aside from the basketball players, Harkins may be the easiest person to identify in the Voller Athletic Center on game nights.
She's the one sitting in the first row behind the Roberts bench, proudly clad in a white, custom-made Raiders (Roberts' retired mascot) sweatsuit top. Occasionally, she'll stop her cheering to "coach from the sidelines" and encourage the players to "get their hands up" on defense.
The jacket was a gift from former Voller Athletic Center Director, Michele Lupo and a former volleyball player sewed the letters "A-U-N-T S-U-E" on the back of it.
"She's the best," Roberts women's basketball coach Kevin Clifford said, pausing to control his emotions. "She's a special lady, she's the No. 1 fan and you can always count on her. She's very dedicated, she loves Roberts, she loves the players and I think that she's just awesome."
The players share those same feelings.
"Her dedication to the program is unmatched and we just love her," said Georgia Haverlock, a graduate student who recently completed her fourth season with the women's basketball team.
"She's a part of our team and she's a part of our program," said junior forward Grace Dow. "She's also always praying for us, which I appreciate and I know that our team appreciates, too."
Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1998, Harkins has chronic arthritis in her back and uses a walker, which is usually parked a few steps away to the side of the bleachers.
"I just can't get around like I used to," she said. "It's just life, it's the way it is. One of my mantras is, 'it is what it is.' The Lord knows that I don't say that sarcastically, it's just one way that I deal with this psychologically and emotionally instead of complaining, which makes life worse."
Her mission continues
While Aunt Sue used to be present for nearly every home athletic event, she is only able to attend home basketball games now.
She and Glenn moved into an assisted living facility about 15 miles from campus several years ago after he was diagnosed with dementia. Glenn passed away on Feb. 1, 2021 and Sue still lives in the facility.
Unable to drive herself, Aunt Sue relies on her Redhawk family for transportation. For years, she rode with women's assistant basketball coach Jack Rosati.
"She was one of the first people that I met when I came to Roberts and I was just so impressed with her and her knowledge of the game and how committed she was to the program," Rosati said. "She was just a phenomenal support to me and to the program."
During the pregame rides, Harkins quizzed Rosati about that day's opponent until she had a complete scouting report. The mood on the ride home could vary.
"If we won, they were pleasant," Rosati joked.
This season Reggie Clark, an assistant with the men's team, provided transportation to many games.
Aunt Sue, who fondly remembers watching the historic 1967 men's basketball team play in front of packed houses at Churchville-Chili High School, appreciates every step of the journey and continues to pass on the lessons she learned from Magill and Anderson so many years ago.
"Anything that I can say or do to help these athletes hear about or learn about Jesus, that's my goal," she said. "Bottom line, that's what we are all about – for the kids to know the Lord and have a purpose. … I just want these kids to come to know Jesus."
And when they do?
"I hug them to pieces."
'A full blessing'
After six decades of support, Aunt Sue has earned a special place in the hearts of the Roberts Wesleyan family.
"Loyola of Chicago has Sister Jean and that's who she is for us," Saladzius says. "She's Aunt Sue and she is somebody that is going to be there supporting us and, no matter the outcome of games, she is always going to be an anchor. It's definitely a blessing and something that players need to see. This is a person that has been doing it far longer than you've been here, and it hasn't stopped, and it never wavers. That's just a testament to her, her beliefs and God shining down on us."
For all that she has given to the Roberts community and to hundreds of student-athletes over the years, Harkins has received even more through her association with Roberts.
"I love the Lord, I love the university and I love these kids," Harkins says. "Most of all it is a way to thank the Lord for Roberts and the people who showed me who Jesus is and how he lived. There is nothing that I can do or say but thank the Lord for Roberts Wesleyan and these kids."
Three generations of Roberts student-athletes, alumni and coaches are also eternally grateful for Aunt Sue.
"Roberts was transformational for her and she wants the same life-changing experience for each student athlete," Segave said. "It's a full blessing and that's what Roberts is about. It's about community and giving back and that is what Aunt Sue has done."
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