That's one reason Levis and nine of her Buckeye teammates have partnered the past two seasons with Strong Girls United, a national nonprofit with a mission is to empower girls to be strong, confident, and resilient through sports, mentorship and mental health programming.
Through the organization's Female Athlete Mentoring program that matches female college athletes one-to-one with K-8th grade girls, the Buckeyes have developed a relationship with the Columbus Ice Hockey Club, the local Hockey Is For Everyone program that introduces thousands across the city of all backgrounds to the game.
"When I first went to Strong Girls United and wanted to do the mentoring program, I was just doing it with the thought of inspiring other young athletes," she said. "But I'm from Minnesota, and I've seen how hockey is back there, so I wanted to bring that to Columbus as best I could. That's why I thought it would be really cool to do it with a bunch of young Columbus hockey players, because you're always looking to grow the game."
Sunday night, members of the Ohio State team including Levis as well as their mentees from the Columbus Ice Hockey Club shared Zach Werenski's community-focused suite in Nationwide Arena for the Blue Jackets' win over Ottawa. Sophie Jaques, who won the Patty Mazmaier Award as the best player in the country, stopped by, and everyone was able to watch an NHL game with one another and continue developing a bond.
The girls and the OSU athletes previously met earlier this year for a skating session after one of the Buckeyes' games. This is the second year the Buckeyes have been part of Strong Girls United but the first where the players and CIHC members have been able to meet in person.
"Our team is doing the same mentoring with FAM and Strong Girls United, but we are partners with people all over the state, so we never necessarily got to meet our one-on-one mentees," Levis said. "Being able to actually be in person and interact with them is so much more fun and builds that connection even deeper. The girls love it, and for them to get to interact with us in person I think makes a huge difference. It's been awesome."
