News
Roberts Named 2023 Division II Award of Excellence Finalist
Roberts Wesleyan University and 21 other schools have been named finalists for the 2023 Division II Award of Excellence. This award recognizes initiatives in the past year that exemplify the Division II philosophy, community engagement and student-athlete leadership.
Division II honors its members each year for conducting events that promote student-athletes giving back and serving as leaders within their communities or on their campuses. Roberts is part of the East Coast Conference and submitted their Rise Against Hunger project.
Partnering with Rise Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organization, student-athletes held their inaugural meal-packing event to help address both local and global hunger needs. Through a Redhawks fundraising event, they were able to raise $5,000 for this initiative, which gave them the opportunity to pack and box 13,176 single-meal packets. These meals were received by ORPHANetwork, Rise Against Hunger's in-country partner, and distributed in Nicaragua.
"I'm happy to congratulate our student-athletes for being recognized for the second time in three years for their work in the community and, this year, across the world," said Bob Segave, executive director of athletics. "This project made a huge difference through our student-athletes engaging their hands to impact the world. Throughout this project, and through Redhawks Reach Out, they've learned valuable life lessons."
A committee of athletics administrators determined this year's finalists, and the national Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee selected the top three finalists, who will be announced at the Division II business session Jan. 14 at the 2023 NCAA Convention in San Antonio.
Each finalist will receive $500. In addition, the winner will receive $2,500, the first runner-up will receive $1,250 and the second runner-up will receive $1,000. All prize money is intended to be used for future SAAC initiatives or community engagement events.