“He’s my buddy!” squealed 9-year-old Asia Jones, pointing to a man nearly twice her height with dark shaggy hair and a patient, lop-sided grin.

“We do fun activities,” she added, skipping back to a game of jump rope.

Her buddy is 22-year-old Matt Kosanovich, a senior in history and English at Ohio State.

He stood in the gymnasium of the South Side Settlement House and explained the rules of dodge ball to a group of about 30 children.

Before they lost patience, the game erupted. The gymnasium – stuffy with its doors closed to the rain – became filled with children’s taunts, cheers and laughter.

One student threw a ball at Kosanovich a little too hard. Kosanovich caught it with the deft agility endowed upon the former high school basketball player.

“Is that all you got?” he asked, flashing his smile.

Kosanovich ran with all the energy of his small companions, protecting teammates and tossing the balls he caught gently at opponents.

He has spent his entire life working with kids. In high school, Kosanovich taught at basketball and soccer camps for youth. After coming to OSU, he has volunteered at COSI and works with the Children’s Hunger Alliance, sponsored by AmeriCorps. Kosanovich teaches students in local schools, community centers and churches.

“I really just want to work with kids. I’ve been working with kids for a very long time,” Kosanovich said.

The program at the Settlement House is called CATCH, a nationally-recognized physical education initiative Kosanovich trained for at Children’s Hospital.

He also heads three other projects through CHA. He was originally hired as part of Food Folks, a team of volunteers who independently run a 12-course curriculum at city schools. Children are fed a meal, then learn basic nutrition facts and make a creative snack.

Kosanovich has also coordinated Little Chefs, a shortened form of Food Folks where children work with a professional chef and Bright Futures, a one-day career workshop.

Raised in a middle-class family from Centerville, Ohio, Kosanovich said the hunger plight of children in Columbus surprised him. According to the CHA Web site, one in six children faces hunger.

“I grew up in a situation where everything pretty much was great all across the board. You get into working with these kids at inner-city schools, and you see that they don’t have that,” Kosanovich said. “I just don’t understand why they don’t have the same opportunities as me.”

Kosanovich realized the extent of child hunger in Columbus at his first program.

“They ended up eating every last piece of food I put out on the table,” he said. “It sucks to see that type of thing, when you walk into a program and see kids eat up every last crumb of food – just because they’re hungry.”

Kosanovich said he has more appreciation for his own childhood after working with hungry youth.

His mother, Bobbie Kosanovich, is a teacher who has taught at inner-city schools in the past. She said her son’s experiences would make him stronger, both personally and professionally.

“I think for Matt, this was a real step out of the box. I think it’s been an awesome experience for him,” she said. “He’s always got some kind of little story to tell about the kids.”

Kosanovich transferred to OSU after one year at Washington and Jefferson College in Pennsylvania. Bobbie Kosanovich said her son seems much happier and loves participating in activities at OSU, including intramural sports.

“He seemed to get into the swing of things at Ohio State right away. I think the exposure he’s had has been much more positive,” she said.

Bobbie Kosanovich is thrilled her son goes along with children.

“Kids tend to be drawn to him, his mannerisms. He’s got a real gentle nature,” she said. “I always though he’d end up in some kind of teaching profession.”

Indeed, Kosanovich said he intends to remain a mentor to children.

He plans to apply to Teach for America, a highly competitive program allowing graduates to teach at inner-city schools across the country.

Kosanovich is on the right path to his desire. Recently, Kosanovich was offered a position as a campaign coordinator, in which he will recruit students into Teach for America.

However, Kosanovich’s decision to work for Teach for America is not driven by the promise of a strong teaching career, nor by the small amount of living stipend he receives for his work with CHA.

“Really the only reason why I do it is to work with the kids,” he said.

His friends agreed.

“He’s one of those people you’d never hear about. He does it for all the right reasons,” said Patty Cunningham Jr., a first-year graduate student.

TJ Smith, a senior in human development and family science, said Kosanovich does not hide enthusiasm for his work.

“He came in all sweaty one day and just said, ‘Yeah, I was out with the kids,'” Smith said. “It just seems that whatever age group he deals with, he does it very well. I think that will make him a very well-rounded teacher.”

Kosanovich said he does not plan to spend his life teaching. He wants to find a more permanent solution to educational hardships kids face.

One problem he cited is a dependence on tax levies. Schools in richer communities are more likely to receive funding than schools in poorer areas, where empty pockets might cause voters to stay away from tax increases.

For the time being, Kosanovich enjoys his work with children in Columbus. He said he admires most about the children’s potential and enthusiasm.

“They’re pretty amazing in what they can do and what you learn when you’re out on the job working with them,” Kosanovich said. “Seeing a kid finally understand what you’re trying to teach them – it can totally make your day.”

Judging from the smiling youngsters around him, Kosanovich might have returned the favor.