Syracuse senior long snapper and team captain Sam Rodgers is one of 22 student-athletes named to the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team in recognition of his dedication to community service.
This prestigious college football award pays tribute to a select group of student-athletes who have worked to positively impact the lives of others. The 22 players honored with this distinct recognition have not only dedicated their time to succeeding on the field, but have made a commitment to enriching the lives of others while contributing to the greater good of their communities.
Rodgers, who has been nominated twice for the AFCA Good Works Team, has been active in numerous community service organizations in his time with the Orange, including organizing the Syracuse chapter of Uplifting Athletes and taking mission trips to Haiti.
He was selected for the award by a voting panel that whittled a record 182 nominees down to the 22 student-athletes, 11 from the Football Bowl Subdivision and 11 from the Football Championship Subdivision, selected to the team.
The State College, Pennsylvania native made his second trip to Haiti in the last two years with the group Poverty Resolutions. During this trip, which he made with his family and fellow Syracuse student-athletes, he assisted on a number of projects including aiding the Mission of Grace Orphanage.
He taught children English, helped build green houses for the orphanage and ran a soccer clinic for more than 100 children from the surrounding village. He was able to provide soccer balls, cleats and shoes to many of the kids in attendance.
The Syracuse chapter of Uplifting Athletes, which Rodgers helped to start and is currently the president of, is a member of the national Uplifting Athletes organization that aligns college football with rare diseases and raises them to national priority through outreach, research and advocacy.
Rodgers recently organized the third-annual Lift for Life event which raises awareness and funds to combat brain tumors, a cause Rodgers and the chapter decided on after former Orange punter Rob Long was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2010.
Rodgers is also active with the Building Men program and the Ronald McDonald House with his teammates.
A two-time selection to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District Team, Rodgers was named a Remembrance Scholar for 2014-15 at Syracuse. The Remembrance Scholarship is one of the highest awards a Syracuse student can receive and was established in honor of the 35 Syracuse students studying abroad that were among the 270 men, women and children who were killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. The Remembrance Scholarship is given to seniors for distinguished scholarship, citizenship and service to the community.
The senior has been the team's long snapper in all-41 games in the last four seasons.
Rodgers is the fourth former Syracuse student-athlete to be named to the AFCA Good Works Team, joining Matt Tarullo (2004), Graham Manley (2003) and Kyle Johnson (2000).
No comments:
Post a Comment