Student-athletes honored for community service
For the second time in three years, Saint Mary’s student-athletes have been honored for their community service work.
Saint Mary’s is one of 19 NCAA Division III schools to receive this year’s National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators awards honoring community-service projects and activities.
Saint Mary’s athletes earned honorable-mention honors for their variety of different volunteer and service projects over the past year. Those efforts included raising money for cancer awareness/research; being role models for elementary and middle-school children through clinics and educational activities; collecting food and Christmas gifts for donation to charitable organizations; cleaning the campus and local community; and serving other students and student-athletes on the SMU campus.
“I am so proud of our student-athletes for their numerous volunteer activities,” said athletic director Nikki Fennern. “Nearly all of our over 300 student-athletes have participated in community service projects for the SMU community, Winona community, and beyond. They are committed to academic and athletic success, as well as to giving back to the community. Along with so many other students at Saint Mary’s, they are living the university’s mission.”
Alvernia College (one-time project/activity), UW-Stevens Point (an array of projects/activities) and Carleton College (on-going project/activity) earned top honors in the National Association of Division III Athletics Administrators community service project categories.
SMU was among 16 other institutions that earned recognition in the program, which has honored Division III athletics programs’ community-service efforts annually since 2002. All of the institutions were recognized by NADIIIAA on Jan. 15 at the NCAA Convention in San Antonio, Texas.
The awards are presented in cooperation with the program’s exclusive sponsor, Jostens Inc. of Minneapolis, whose products include yearbooks, class rings, graduation products, school photography, and employee and achievement awards.
