Moon Township, Pa. - Senior captain Whitney Pappas (Evergreen, Colo. / Belle Tire) of the Robert Morris University women's hockey team was recently named as one of the eight finalists across the country for the 2011 BNY Mellon Wealth Management Hockey Humanitarian Award.
Pappas becomes the first student-athlete, male or female, in RMU history to be named as a finalist for this prestigious distinction.
The Humanitarian Award is presented annually to college hockey's finest citizen and seeks to recognize collegiate student-athletes from any division, male or female, who give back to their community in the true humanitarian spirit. This year's eight finalists were selected from a record number of nominees.
"We are very proud any time an athlete receives accolades for the work they do, but we are even more proud of the citizens that we have here at RMU in our student population and our athletes," head coach Nate Handrahan said. "Whitney has been an outstanding person and leader during her time here at RMU and deserves to be in this final group. She embodies the kind of character we look for in future recruits. We have been very fortunate to have her here for her four years. You cannot go wrong with any of the finalists as they all have done great things in their respective communities."
While her on-ice accomplishments are certainly notable, Pappas' performance in the classroom and passion for helping out those in her community is remarkable. She is a six-time Dean's List honoree, carries a 3.63 cumulative grade-point average and is on track to graduate from Robert Morris with a degree in communication in May. She has also earned All-CHA Academic honors in each year of her collegiate career thus far.
Pappas has donated her time for many organizations and causes including the Holy Angels Orphanage, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Skate for the Cure. She has led several initiatives such as Project Bundle, in which she helped collect coats, scarves, hats and gloves, and has participated in numerous food drives. Pappas also served as an intern at a recreation center in her home state of Colorado and helped raise over $7,500 in cash sponsorships and over $10,000 in cash contributions.
Pappas is serving as a captain for the Colonials for the second consecutive season and is one of the most accomplished defenseman in program history. An All-CHA performer in her junior season, Pappas ranks second all-time in goals by a defenseman at Robert Morris and has registered 35 career points. She has missed only one contest since the beginning of her collegiate career and is among the top 5 in all-time games played in a Colonial uniform with 134.
Pappas is also just the second student-athlete ever from any current College Hockey America (CHA) school to be chosen as a finalist for this award.
This year's Humanitarian Award winner will be introduced Friday, April 8 at the 2011 NCAA Men's Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.
Pappas and the rest of her Colonial classmates will take the ice at home for the final time this weekend as RMU hosts CHA foe Syracuse. RMU will seek to extend its three-game unbeaten streak when the Colonials and Orange faceoff at 7:05 p.m. Friday evening in the series opener. The series finale will be at 3:05 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19.
