FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 9, 2015
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Senior Kyle Thomas, a member of the Southern New Hampshire baseball team has been selected as the 2014-15 Northeast-10 Conference "Man of the Year". The award, voted on by a panel of administrators from each NE-10 institution, was presented last Monday night at the conference's annual awards banquet.
Thomas's acceptance speech from the Northeast-10 Banquet:
The winner of the SNHU athletic department's Penmen Pride Award, Thomas has been extremely active on campus and in the community over his four years on campus. A Justice Studies/Psychology major, Thomas was a four-year member of SNHU's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and served as the organization's president as a junior and senior.
He also served as the vice president for Nu Iota, a justice studies honors association, and was a member of the Justice Studies Association. Thomas was also a two-year member of SNHU's Presidential Ambassadors group, a group that performs outreach for the University in a multitude of areas.
This summer, Thomas will be part of the Ambassadors on a service trip to Istanbul and Rwanda, serving as an intern at a major environmental conference in Istanbul while visiting Kepler University in Rwanda to help teach the SNHU curriculum.
As a member of the baseball team, Thomas worked closely with Team IMPACT and baseball team member Ian Price, serving as Ian's lead advocate in the 2014-15 season, while also helping to organize SNHU's first Team IMPACT night at a basketball game this past winter.
Thomas and the two NE-10 Woman of the Year honorees during the Northeast-10 banquet's question and answer session with Jacob VanRyn:
He also played a role in organizing the SAAC Winter Ball, which raises funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and working with the SAAC at Saint Anselm College, developed the Queen City Cup, an all-sport competition between the two Manchester rivals.
A President's List student in each of his four years, Thomas was also on the Northeast-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for academic excellence every semester of his academic career. A two-time recipient of the SNHU Student-Athlete Academic Recognition Award, Thomas completed an internship with the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in the summer and fall of 2014. On the field, Thomas was a member of a Penmen baseball program that made four straight NCAA appearances and won its first-ever Northeast-10 Championship in 2014.
As part of the nomination process, nominees were required to submit a 200-word personal statement. Thomas's is below.
Kyle Thomas Personal Statement
"I never thought that four years ago I would be in the position I am today. My college experience has completely changed my life and set me on a path destined for success. As an athlete, my playing time has been extremely limited. That limitation has become a catalyst for my passion to help others succeed. My goal over the past four years has been to demonstrate that your impact does not need to be measured by statistics or grade point averages. Impact is defined by the commitment and dedication to your own personal goals and the change you can create in others by achieving those goals. Being involved with athletics in conjunction with other academic organizations has taught me that being a member allows for learning and development, but becoming a leader is a privilege that must be earned and respected. No one has taught me how influential my commitment and dedication to a person or goal can be more than Ian Price. Ian has been a three-year member of Team Impact and the Penmen baseball program. He has taught me that adversity is a part of life and even walking just one step forward can define success."
Additional information for this release provided by Southern New Hampshire Athletic Communications.
ABOUT THE NORTHEAST-10
The Northeast-10 Conference is an association of 15 NCAA Division II colleges and universities located in New England and New York that is committed to supporting balanced academic and athletic opportunities for more than 6,500 student-athletes.
Each year, 4,500 of those student-athletes compete in conference championships in 24 sports, making the NE-10 the largest DII conference in the country in terms of sport sponsorship. Leading the way in the classroom, on the field and within the community, the Northeast-10 is proud of its comprehensive program and the experience it provides student-athletes.