When things aren’t going well for Mike Rivera, sometimes pulling out a Dr. Seuss book is just what he needs.

No, Rivera doesn’t sit at home by himself and read “Green Eggs and Ham” or “Horton Hears a Who” for his personal enjoyment. Instead, he heads to local elementary schools and spends 30 to 40 minutes reading “Cat in the Hat,” “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish,” and several other Dr. Seuss classics to students.

“It just makes me feel good,” Rivera said. “I learn a lot from them. It’s a way to get away from the daily grind and stresses of football.”

The 6-foot-3, 255-pound linebacker is busy enough trying to battle a full class schedule and his duties to the football team. When he started volunteering and doing community service during high school, he knew it was something he had to continue in Lawrence. He purposely did not schedule classes between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. so he could travel to schools and other places to do as much volunteer work as he could.

“Those kids were so excited,” Rivera said of his visit to the schools last week. “It puts a smile on your face to see how excited they are to see you and the other athletes. It’s a good way to get away from things and have a little fun.”

Rivera works with Habitat for Humanity, the Jayhawk Fun and Fitness Program and the Jayhawk READ program. He also is organizing an event with the Special Olympics that will give 125 Special Olympic athletes the chance to go bowling and to hang out with several KU athletes.

“He may do the most community service of any student-athlete we have here at KU,” coach Mark Mangino said. “He is a good citizen, high character, great moral person. He really is.”

Rivera’s teammates voted him as a team captain before this season, a position he also held in 2006, his first year as a starter.

“Being named captain is one of the biggest honors that you could ever have as a football player,” Rivera said.

Despite being one of the top tacklers on the team and a team leader, Rivera was benched earlier this season for unproductive play. Mangino and the coaching staff weren’t happy with his effort and decided that taking away his playing time might be incentive for him start giving more effort.

Rivera agreed.

“Coach wanted to send me that message to make sure I’m not getting complacent or anything,” Rivera said. “It did motivate me. It helped me to get going again and re-evaluate what I was doing and make sure I was doing everything I could to help the team win.”

Rivera, who is majoring in communication studies, plans to pursue a master’s degree in sports management. He wants to stay around the game and hopes to someday coach high school football. Regardless of what happens on the field, Rivera knows he has set himself up nicely for a career after football.

“I’ve been getting my education and networking and doing internships and getting things going in that aspect,” Rivera said. “If football doesn’t work out, I have a backup plan.”

— — Edited by Brenna Hawley