Terriers Earn America East Service and Sportsmanship Awards
June 7, 2011 | Women's Swimming & Diving
June 7, 2011
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. - Boston University women's rowing coxswain Alex Thornton received the first-ever America East/CFES Service Award and all of the participants at the league's swimming & diving championship earned the Sportsmanship Award, Interim Commissioner Shonna Brown announced Tuesday night at the conference's annual meeting.
In its first year, the America East/CFES Service Award recognizes leadership within the America East/College for Every Student (CFES) mentoring partnership and dedication to service throughout the year. To be nominated for the Sportsmanship Award, an individual or team must have demonstrated consistently the values of caring, fairness, civility, honesty, integrity and responsibility in his or her daily participation in intercollegiate athletics. The student-athlete or team nominees must be a member of an intercollegiate athletics team during the 2010-11 academic year.
America East swimmers and divers set aside their competitive spirit and rallied around one of their own at the 2011 conference championship. Student-athletes raised funds and paid tribute to Boston University senior diver Bailey O'Brien, who learned in December that cancer, which had been in remission since her freshman year, had returned. Over the next few months, O'Brien endured numerous surgeries and intensive chemo and radiation therapy but was diagnosed with stage four melanoma.
When the conference championship came around in February, her story had reached across the entire America East footprint and her fellow student-athletes sprung to action. Led by UMBC's Ashley Miller, collection baskets were placed around the Germantown Indoor Swim Club, host site for the meet, and over $1,500 was raised for the Bailey O'Brien Fund. The athletes also organized a moving tribute to O'Brien, in which they all gathered around the pool and held hands in unison. O'Brien watched the tribute via Skype and was rendered speechless by the support. Inspired by the gesture, O'Brien continued to fight and learned just last month that she is in remission.
A fellow senior, Thornton proved to be an exceptional coordinator for the Boston University-Jackson-Mann Middle School CFES partnership throughout the year with her ability to juggle logistics, as well as communicate effectively. She was a role model to the mentees with her friendly, thoughtful and outgoing approach, and she became a leader to the other BU mentors through example. Thornton's positive demeanor helped to build strong relationships with both the Jackson-Mann students and staff.
"Quite simply, there wouldn't have been a comprehensive program this year without Alex Thornton," said Logan Seward, the Assistant Director for Student-Athlete Services at BU. "She went above and beyond in her role as coordinator."
Thornton, a coxswain for the BU women's rowing team, was the point person for the athletics' department's partnership with the Jackson-Mann Middle School this year, communicating directly with the Vice Principal to develop and execute the mentoring program. The recent graduate attended the Newport, Rhode Island CFES Planning and Training Workshop, and served as BU's primary recruiter for the program. Thornton developed all of the program's activities on campus, working with campus dining, facilities and admissions to provide the Jackson-Mann students with an in-depth experience of student life at BU.
Thornton also served on the Student Athlete Advisory Council Executive Board as both secretary and CFES Coordinator, and she volunteered with various other community service projects, including the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, the BU annual Teddy Bear Toss, Women Enduring Cancer Row (WeCanRow) and the women's rowing team's Angel Tree project. Athletically, Thornton was the team MVP during her junior and senior seasons, coxing the team's fastest boat in each of the last two seasons. She graduated last month with a degree in international relations.
The America East Conference/CFES partnership was launched in the fall of 2010. Collegiate student-athletes serve as mentors for CFES scholars at partnership school. The college-student activities include tutoring sessions, joint community service projects and campus tours that often involve watching a collegiate athletic event. The America East/CFES partnership is the first ever between an NCAA conference and the organization.
About CFES College For Every Student (www.collegefes.org) is a non-profit organization that has created college-access partnerships with more than 500 schools across the country serving more than 100,000 students. CFES partners K-12 schools with colleges to implement three primary core practices: Pathways to College-- college visits, and partnerships with colleges and college students; Peer Mentoring-mentee/mentor relationships; and Leadership Through Service-leadership development workshops and community service. For more information, please visit www.collegefes.org, or call 802-462-3170.
