The Athlete CRUSH College Impact Awards

We believe that athletes have the power to change the world.

The Awards

The College Impact Awards recognize student-athletes from across the US who have displayed acts of selflessness worth sharing. Sharing these stories, accomplishments, and positive acts is key to prompting action from others. We want to start a movement where athletes use their platform and their positions to do good.

The idea for the College Impact Awards started when we realized the lack of recognition for student-athletes doing good. When it comes to philanthropy and charitable acts, everyone thinks of building schools and donating heaps of money. However, we think that there is so much more to it.

As Athlete CRUSH member Joonas recalls: “During my college days, I remember giving a t-shirt to a local neighbor and even signing my name on it. He smiled, told me he would sell it on eBay for a fortune when I become famous, and wore it regularly.”

Something as small as giving away a t-shirt, carrying someone’s groceries up the stairs, or volunteering an hour or two is making someone’s day and therefore the world a better place. There are many ways college students make a difference and we want to highlight them through the College Impact Awards. Apply for the College Impact Awards by submitting your story at the bottom of this page.

Award Categories

College Impact Award recipients will have made a significant impact on the university, the community, or any others contribution to the world around them, through outstanding dedication, competence, selflessness, or leadership, as demonstrated by one or more of the following:

RAK Award

The Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) is given to someone who has done something just out of their good nature. They did this good deed in order to be a good person and because they believed it was the right thing to do. Making someone’s day was, to them, the goal of this act.

Catalyst Award

This is an individual who takes initiative to make a change. This is a person who gets involved with or starts initiatives to do good in their community or the world around them. They are always thinking about how they can help others around them.

Community Award

Anyone who has had a positive impact on their community is eligible for this award. The winner will be the student who garners the most support from the community. To measure this, each nominee will create an Athlete CRUSH profile and the one who gets the most followers by deadline day will be the winner.

OUR 2018 WINNERS

David Long - West Virginia University

Josh Bringuel - San Diego State University

Kelly Dopke - University of Idaho

MEDIA COVERAGE

Prizes

Besides receiving a flashy plaque, each winner can nominate a cause or specific charity to which Athlete CRUSH will donate $531 in his/her name.

Why $531? Glad you asked. 5 CRUSH attributes, 3 awards, 1 goal = Make the world a better place.

Meet the Selection Committee

Mike Lahoud professional soccer player and NASL Humanitarian of the Year 2016.

Michael Lahoud

San Antonio FC

Michael is a professional soccer player for San Antonio FC and the Sierra Leone national team. He is an ambassador for Beyond Sport, and was awarded the FIFPro Merit Award in 2015 and the North American Soccer League's Humanitarian of the Year award in 2016 for his work building schools in Sierra Leone.

Sally Freedman

UEFA

Sally is an Online Promotion Manager at UEFA. She previously worked as a Spectator Services Manager at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, Head of Fan Engagement and Marketing for Melbourne City FC and Wellington Phoenix FC, Project Manager for Football Federation Australia, and the AFC Asian Cup Australia.

Joonas Jokinen

Athlete CRUSH

Joonas is the operations manager at Athlete CRUSH. He capped for the Finnish National Soccer Team over 50 times (U15-20), played in England, Italy, Switzerland and Finland, was a student-athlete on the Temple University soccer team, and graduated summa cum laude with a major in Sport & Recreation Management and a minor in Business.

Kelly Dopke

Student-Athlete/Future Physician

As well as being last year's Lead Award winner, Kelly is a student athlete at the University of Idaho where she competes in Division I soccer. Kelly was captain of her team and heavily involved in the Student Athlete Advisory Committee as well as many volunteer activities. Kelly will graduate this May summa cum laude with a degree in Medical Sciences and a certificate in Diversity and Stratification. She will then be pursuing medical school in 2020.

Nicole "Nicky" Nieves

Paralympian/Philanthropist

Nicky is a Non-Profit owner and Director at Limitless People Inc. which provides unbiased volleyball opportunity to all. She is also is a current member of the USA Women’s National Sitting Volleyball Team, and a 2016 Rio Paralympics Gold medalist. She is not only a player but a passionate coach, dedicating her time to Highschool Boys and Girls volleyball, middle school volleyball, and club volleyball.

Josh Bringuel

Student-Athlete

As well as being last year's Catalyst Award winner, Josh is a football player at San Diego State University majoring in Psychology with a minor in Counseling & Social Change. Josh is the VP of the SDSU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was recently named to represent SDSU on the 2018-19 All-Mountain West SAAC Community Service Team. After his playing career, Josh intends on pursuing a career in coaching and teaching.

Who can nominate?

Any current/former teammate, friend, coach, team staff member, professor or school administrator can submit nominations. Parents and siblings are encouraged to submit too! Self-nominations will be accepted and all nominations will be confidential.

Who is eligible?

The awards are limited to those students who are/were student-athletes during the 2018/19 academic year. We accept applications from any division, sport, conference or college/university in the US.

Click here for the evaluation criteria

How to nominate?

Simply fill out the submission form below. The story can be max. 173 words and you can include up to 3 photos of the nominee (photos are strongly encouraged). Please include social media handles as well. If you have any supporting documentation, please send it to [email protected]

Timeline

Submission Deadline: May 13th

Finalists shortlisted: June 13th

Winners announced: July 13th

Submission Form

Click here to read the Terms & Conditions