DALLAS - Conference USA announced its Fall Spirit of Service Award winners Thursday. The award honors student-athletes with significant community service endeavors, good academic standing and participation in their sport. The Spirit of Service award is presented three times throughout the season, with Thursday's honorees representing men’s cross country, football, women’s soccer and volleyball.
 
2022 Fall Spirit of Service Award Recipients
Emily Keck, Charlotte Women’s Soccer, R-So.
Deborah Bien-Aime, FIU Women’s Soccer, So.
Sonte Stewart, Florida Atlantic Volleyball, Jr.
Alma Cedefors, Louisiana Tech Women’s Soccer, Jr.
Kaylee Oscarson, Middle Tennessee Volleyball, Gr.
Sean-Thomas Faulkner, North Texas Football, Sr.
Travis Dowd, Rice Men’s Cross Country, Jr.
Asha Zuniga, UAB Women’s Soccer, Sr.
Marian Ovalle, UTEP Volleyball, Jr.
Caleb Cantrell, UTSA Football, Sr.
Nate Griffin, WKU Football, So.
 
Charlotte redshirt sophomore Emily Keck, a biology major, has made a lasting impact in the community working with Niner Elementary Welcome Back Day, Kids Soccer Shootout, Urban Ministry Promise Volunteer and Special Olympics Competition Assistant. Keck, who is a part of the University Honors Program, is a C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal winner, a C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree and a three-time Athletic Director’s List member. She made her season debut against UNCG collecting nine saves, the second-most by any Charlotte goalkeeper in their first match in program history.
 
FIU sophomore Deborah Bien-Aime, a 2022 CSC Academic All-District student, assists the FIU athletic department with the operations and marketing staff with community engagement events. She recently volunteered at the annual Roary’s No Scream Halloween event which brings FIU student-athletes and the community together to celebrate all of the great things Halloween has to offer. Bien-Aime appeared in 12 games for the Panthers and made four starts as a defender as she helped the defense post a pair of shutouts in 2022.
 
Florida Atlantic junior Sonte Stewart, a hospitality major, was very active in the community during the fall semester at FAU. She takes the honors of having the most community service hours from all the fall sports team as she participated in the Ukraine Food Pantry where she packaged food to be sent over to Ukraine. Stewart also took part in the FAU mental health week and contributed in the Thanksgiving Canned Food Drive. The Gilroy, Calif. native made the FAU All-Academic Team with a 3.0 GPA in three consecutive semesters. She played in 86 sets over 15 matches for the Owls finishing the season with 19 kills and 24 points, while recording 26 digs, five blocks and a .970 reception percentage.
 
Louisiana Tech junior Alma Cedafors made an impact in the community working with 4 Paws Animal Rescue, Elementary School Gym Clean-Up, Club Soccer Referee, Book Donation Drive, Youth Soccer Coach, Ruston Parks and Rec, Clothing Drive and Back to School Reading Day. The psychology major with an emphasis in educational studies is a seven-time AD Honor Roll winner, four-time Dean’s List member and has racked up three 4.0 GPA quarters in her time at LA Tech. Cedafors appeared in all 19 matches in the 2022 campaign, logging 816 minutes, and scoring three goals, including two game-winners.
 
Middle Tennessee graduate student Kaylee Oscarson is an active member in the Murfreesboro community as she has served at the MTSU/WKU Blood Drive, Liberty House Clean Up, Math & Literacy Bobcats Sports Jam and Special Olympics Bowling. In her senior campaign in 2022, she started in all 29 matches for a total of 105 sets ranking fourth in C-USA with 25 solo blocks, seventh with a hitting percentage of .360, seventh with 90 total blocks and ninth with .86 blocks per set. Oscarson recorded a .500 hitting percentage or higher in 11 matches last season and also earned Sacramento State All-Tournament Team honors.
 
North Texas senior Sean-Thomas Faulkner, who is currently pursuing his master’s in Business Administration in Strategic Management, serves as a “mentor” for the UNT ELEVAR program. In this role he frequently visits with students that have intellectual disabilities and participates in activities alongside them such as having lunch with them and reassuring them of the same college experience that all students at UNT. Faulkner is also a nominee for the Weurrfel Trophy. Outside of his participation in the community, he has maintained a 4.0 cumulative GPA in the MBA program since the fall of 2021 and was named to the C-USA All-Academic Team. The senior started 11 games for the Mean Green, ranking fourth on the squad with 66 tackles as he made six or more tackles in six different games.
 
Rice junior Travis Dowd serves as the Rice Athletics Team Impact Ambassador and has made an impact to advance the mission of Team Impact on campus by helping to match kids with teams. Dowd participated in the SAAC DEI Social Media Campaign as well as help lead the ROCU/Team Impact Texas Children’s Hospital Toy Drive. The junior from Austin, Texas, was named to the All-Academic Team in back-to-back years and was also a 2022 Academic All-American honoree in 2022. After a first-place finish at the 46^th Rice Invitational, fourth place finish at Lake Charles Toyota McNeese Cowboy Stampede, an 11^th place finish at the Texas A&M Invitational and a 21^st place finish at the C-USA Championships, Dowd landed himself on the 2022 All-Conference Team.
 
UAB senior Asha Zuniga showcased a great involvement within the Birmingham community during her time at UAB. Some of Zuniga’s community service opportunities include Bundles of Hope, Habitat for Humanity, Lakeshore Foundation and Feed My Starving Children. In addition to her efforts within the community she is a member of UAB’s SAAC where she serves as the lead for the Community Service Committee. Zuniga has been named four times as a C-USA Academic Medal recipient and Commissioner’s Honor Roll honoree while landing on the Dean’s and President’s Lists in each year at UAB. The senior captain was named 2022 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year starting in all 19 matches for the Blazers and earning a C-USA First Team selection in the 2022 season.
 
UTEP junior Marian Ovalle, a multidisciplinary studies major, is an active participant in the community of El Paso. She volunteered 11 hours during the fall semester at El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, which is a distribution center that serves agencies such as food pantries, churches, soup kitchens and shelters. Prior to her time at UTEP, Ovalle was named to the New Mexico Military Institute Dean’s List in the fall of 2021. In her first season on the volleyball team, the junior hitter tallied 135 kills in 25 matches and recorded a season-high 12 kills against New Mexico and versus Abilene Christian.
 
UTSA senior Caleb Cantrell plays a major role in the community service efforts in San Antonio as he serves as an athletic representative for the Athletics Inclusive Excellence Board and is a UTSA SAAC Football representative. Cantrell has volunteered for organizations such as the San Antonio Food Bank, Cantoberfest, speaker at local elementary schools and boy scouts, Pie in the Paseo, Fiesta River Parade and many more. The Hurst, Texas native earned his bachelor’s degree in communications in May of 2021 and is now working to pursue a master’s degree in facility management. As UTSA’s starting long snapper for the past four seasons, he logged 141 clean snaps that helped kicker Hunter Duplessis set school records for field goals, extra points and points by a kicker. He was a second-team All-Conference selection in 2021 and honorable mention in 2022 after helping lead the Roadrunners to consecutive conference titles.
 
WKU sophomore Nate Griffin, a Mechanical Engineering major, boasts a 4.0 cumulative GPA, landing him on the President’s List in 2021 and 2022, and is a consistent member in the community surrounding WKU. Griffin achieved 14 hours of community service in the fall participating in all High Five Friday mornings, Lee Pointe Curbside and Curbside’s Bag of Blessings Christmas event. In his second year on the football team, Griffin appeared in nine games, mostly on special teams for the Hilltoppers.