Editor's Note:  Dr. Melanie Croy, ASU kinesiology department head, serves as an Advisory  Director for Hill Country Youth Ranch of Ingram and Big Springs Ranch for Children of San Angelo.

by Julie Schlabs, Staff Writer

The young visitors peeked around the corners of the Angelo State University building to catch a look at the throng of college students venturing from one class to the next.

"This is a real college?" one boy asked, smiling broadly after chasing an oversized cartoon ram through the grass in front of the Center for Human Performance.  "You mean, all of it?"

For many of the 13 young visitors, it was a first glance into university life.

But the youths from the Big Springs Ranch for Children got an inside look this weekend as the guests of various San Angeloans including university faculty and staff.

The children, ages 6 to 18, live on a 7,000-acre ranch in Leakey that is dedicated to providing therapeutic care and substitute parenting for those whose needs cannot be met in their current environment.

Some of the children have no parents.  Others have been abused, abandoned or neglected, or have exceeded their family's capabilities.

And for most, the very notion of higher education can seem unattainable.

Dr. Melanie Croy, ASU kinesiology department head, is hoping to change that.

"I just want to put the idea of college in their heads," Croy said.  "I know we can't reach everyone, but if one or two just get the idea, it'll be well worth it."

But even if the children don't decide that a college education is in their future, Croy said she wanted to find a way to make them smile and ensure they take away many fond memories.

Visiting the ASU campus was an eye-opening experience for the youth, who go to school in a one-room schoolhouse on the South Texas ranch.

"I've never been to a college campus before," Destiny, 13, said.  She was hoping to learn more about becoming a therapist while she was on campus.  "I want to be able to help people -- especially kids," she said.

"They need this time to be children and to have fun," she said.

Gabriel said he was interested in going to ASU.  "They have a gym and everything," he said.

The 13-year-old, who wants to be an archeologist, said he especially enjoyed viewing the school's the natural history exhibit, where he saw the skeletal remains of a number of animal species.

Croy learned about the ranch in a Standard-Times article earlier this year and knew she had to do something.  Although she admits the story lay on her table for a while, thoughts of the ranch and the children never eluded her.

"Finally, I just went down there and I found the most challenging, loving children -- all with their different personalities and gifts," Croy said.  "I wanted to bring them to a college campus."

In the following months, she made plans for the children to visit Angelo State University.  The community response, she said, was overwhelming.

"The people on campus and in San Angelo have just embraced the idea," she said.

Admissions counselors led the students on a campus tour Friday with stops at the school's natural history collection, University Center and university President E. James Hindman's office.

They spent the afternoon hours watching a planetarium show and swimming at the school's pool.

Dr. Robert Hegglund, a former ASU dean, provided free tickets to a Colts baseball game, and the Kiwanis pitched in with hot dog, chip and soda vouchers for each child.

Saturday, the group saw a video about a New Mexico man who made a difference in the lives of children, followed by a discussion about heroes.