NAIA honors Warrior volleyball player
July 22, 2009
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) chose former Warrior Amy Thompson ’09 (Oregon City, Ore.), setter for Corban’s volleyball team, as the 2009 Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) recipient of the Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award. Only 12 student-athletes nationwide were recognized by the NAIA in this way. The NAIA Vice President of Champions of Character wrote to Thompson in mid-May, “The NAIA is proud to have you as one of our finest representatives.”
Tim Seiber, Assistant Director of Athletics, said, “In more than 20 years as a college athlete, coach, sports media professional and athletic administrator, I have not met another student-athlete more selfless, unassuming, caring and dedicated to her team’s best interests than Amy Thompson.”
This is the first time Corban has nominated a student for the national recognition. The award is named for Dr. Walker, President Emeritus of the United States Olympic Committee and a former president of the NAIA. It honors outstanding student-athletes in the areas of campus and community leadership as well as academic and athletic achievements. The recipients are the best emissaries of the five Champions of Character tenets: respect, responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and servant leadership.
Thompson, a two-time NAIA Scholar-Athlete and two-time Academic All-CCC honoree, earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education. In 2007 she was two-time NAIA Region 1 Setter of the Week, and in 2008 she won Corban’s Mark Neustel Athletic Scholarship Award. She ranks third on the Warriors’ single-match list for assists and fourth on the career list for assists. In the community, Thompson was involved in a wide range of activities, including student-teaching at Willamette Christian School, serving on the visitation team at an elderly care home, volunteering as a high school youth group leader, and tutoring students in an afterschool enrichment program.
“Amy is a woman of great integrity in the way she relates to all those around her,” said her former Volleyball Head Coach, Heather Dunn. “She brings a humble attitude and willingness to serve others, which makes her a great teammate and coachable athlete.”
“Sometimes I felt selfish for taking so much time up playing volleyball,” said Thompson, “but at Corban I learned that what I did on the court also presented Christ to others, and that was my most important ministry at that time. I am honored by this award, and I see it as a challenge to continue serving.”
Thompson plans to coach volleyball in her future. She has returned to Oregon City to teach preschool and direct an afterschool Bible program at Bright Minds Christian Day School.
After receiving recognition at the national level, Thompson learned she’d earned a second Champions of Character award—this one from the CCC. Thompson is the 2008-09 female recipient of the conference’s Champions of Character Award. The male recipient is Thompson’s fellow Warrior, Paul Martin ’09 (Beaverton, Ore.), former point guard on the Men’s Basketball Team.
By Jenny Hirschfelder, Staff Writer, Office of Marketing & Communications
503-375-7005 | jhirschfelder@corban.edu
