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Vanguard
University
Jessica Lenderman
Motivated
and guided
Jessica Lenderman was
an activities maven in high school: ASB president, three-letter
athlete, active in her church youth group. But when she came to
Vanguard University of Southern California, she added something
more: spiritual depth.
“At Vanguard, God
radically changed my perspective on life,” she says. “I
began to see how He works through each circumstance. We don’t
just pick where we go or what we do, but God has a calling for each
person.”
That realization gave
additional meaning to her packed schedule. She became a peer tutor,
member of the Student Athlete Advisory Council, leader for freshman
orientation and president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
chapter. She held a 4.0 GPA in exercise and sports science and was
given the Lion of the Year award two seasons.
This year, Lenderman
received the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’
prestigious Dr. LeRoy Walker Sportsmanship Award, which recognizes
a student-athlete who best exemplifies the qualities of scholarship,
character and sportsmanship. Each of the NAIA’s 307 member
institutions nominate one student-athlete for the award.
“It’s a great
honor,” Lenderman says. “I wish they could have picked
the whole basketball team because the award represents them and
the program our coach has created. To receive an award for integrity
and sportsmanship is really cool because I’ve strived for
that.”
As captain of the women’s
basketball team, she helped the Lions to three national tournament
appearances. Last year the team capped an historic season with a
third-place tie finish at the NAIA national tournament, the highest
any VU sports team has ever finished at nationals.
“I am so impressed
by Jessica’s achievements,” says Vanguard President
Murray Dempster. “The honor of receiving the Walker award
is for Jessica, our women’s basketball team, our intercollegiate
athletic program and the university as a whole.”
But for Lenderman, the
real reward was discovering that God was guiding her steps.
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