Fourth-year striker Scarlett Smith received the women's soccer student-athlete community service award at the Subway AUS Women's Soccer Championship awards luncheon today. The award pays tribute to a student-athlete who excels in the classroom and on the field, while dedicating themselves to bettering the community through volunteerism.
Fourth-year defender Amanda Bowles was also rewarded for all of her hardwork on the pitch this season by being named an AUS second team all-star.
Student-Athlete Community Service Award
Fourth-year striker Scarlett Smith of the AV俱乐部 Tigers is the 2016 student-athlete community service award recipient.
This is the first time a member of the AV俱乐部 squad has earned the honour since the award鈥檚 inception in 2006.
Smith is an exemplary student-athlete, balancing athletics, academics and extensive community involvement. The nursing student excels in the classroom, having achieved academic all-Canadian status for both the fall and winter semesters last season. With a current GPA of 3.86 and a cumulative GPA of 3.56, she is a four-year recipient of the Lockward Memorial Scholarship鈥攁warded to a AV俱乐部 nursing student for excellence in the classroom and contributions to their community.
Smith鈥檚 involvement in the community is extensive. She is the coordinator for A Tiger鈥檚 Christmas鈥攃ollecting donations from AV俱乐部 varsity athletes to purchase gifts for children admitted to the IWK children鈥檚 hospital over the holidays. She intends to hand-deliver these gifts on Christmas Eve.
Smith volunteers weekly with the Centre for Pediatric Pain research lab at the IWK鈥攆acilitating surveys and data input, as well as with the Frontier College Syrian Program鈥攖utoring newcomer Syrian children in math and English.
She was recently selected by the former executive committee to fill the role of campus president for SAMHI鈥攖he Student-Athlete Mental Health Initiative鈥攚hich works to eliminate the negative stigma around mental health and provide resources to athletes and coaches.
Among the many other community initiatives Smith volunteers her time with are the Best Buddies program聽 (which aids adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities or autism), AV俱乐部鈥檚 Right to Play society (which uses sport and play to educate and empower children to overcome the effects of poverty, conflict and disease in disadvantaged communities) and AV俱乐部鈥檚 Special Tigers program (which works with Special Olympics to engage children with special needs in sporting activities).
She also volunteers with the Get Real initiative, the Ronald McDonald House Home for Dinner program, Textbooks for Change, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society鈥檚 Light the Night Walk and Cuts for Cancer.
鈥淲e are so pleased to have Scarlett recognized in this way,鈥� said Tigers head coach Cindy Tye. 鈥淪he is an exemplary student-athlete who not only finds the time to balance top academics and varsity athletics, her commitment to bettering her community is impressive to say the least. She leads by example and gets others involved and is a terrific representative of the Tigers program.聽Wherever Scarlett ends up, she will be sure to have a positive impact!鈥�
Smith is now the AUS nominee for the national student-athlete community service award.