DALLAS – Conference USA announced its Fall Spirit of Service Award winners Friday. 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 Friday's honorees representing men’s cross country, football, women’s soccer and volleyball.
 
2023 Fall Spirit of Service Award Recipients
Deborah Bien-Aime, FIU Women’s Soccer, Jr.
Juliana Ballew, Jax State Women’s Cross Country, Sr.
Quinton Cooley, Liberty Football, Jr.
Rebecca Quebedaux, LA Tech Women’s Cross Country, Jr.
Sascha Nielson, MTSU Women’s Soccer, Jr.
Diego Pavia, NM State Football, Jr.
Alyssa Sianez, UTEP Volleyball, Sr.
Annah Hopkins, WKU Women’s Soccer, Sr.
 
FIU junior Deborah Bien-Aime, a two-time recipient of the Fall Spirit of Service award, is majoring in biological sciences with a minor in psychology. Bien-Aime serves on the Student-Athlete Leadership Council where she led several Health and Safety initiatives, including Sun Safety advisories in partnership with the new sunscreen sponsor. She participated in various service events, dedicating over 60 hours. The junior from Margate, Florida, is a multi-year honoree of FIU’s Deans List and the CUSA Commissioner’s Academic Medal and Honor Roll. She appeared in 14 games in one of the most successful season’s for the women’s soccer team and represented Team Haiti in three contests.
 
Jacksonville State senior Juliana Ballew carries a 3.65 GPA studying Family and Consumer Science while being strongly involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). She helped this fall with the Jacksonville Christian Outreach Center’s toy drive and most recently, Operation Christmas Child. Ballew shined during her senior campaign, setting new personal records in both 5K and 6K races. She landed in the top five of Jax State’s inaugural CUSA championship meet to guide the Gamecocks to its best conference championship team finish since 2011. The senior finished her fall season at the 2023 NCAA South Region meet in Gainesville, Florida, where she helped Jax State to its best postseason finish since 2013.
 
Liberty junior Quinton Cooley made a lasting impact on the Lynchburg community working with several organizations including Dollar Makes A Difference, Learn Like Liberty and Trick or Treat so Others Can Eat. Cooley, who has maintained over a 3.0 GPA during each semester of his time at Liberty, was named 2023 CUSA Newcomer of the Year, a CUSA First-Team All-Conference member as he lead the league in rushing yards (1,322) and rushing touchdowns (16). The junior running back was also the only CUSA player averaging more than 100 yards per game in the regular season (101.7)
 
Louisiana Tech junior Rebecca Quebedaux, a marketing major, was very active in the Ruston community in the fall of 2023. Quebedaux participated in numerous community events including Dog Haul, Gameday Booth, 4PAWS, Rock Your School, Dogs with a Cause and Christmas Shoebox. The junior from Baton Rouge is a four-time President’s List Scholar, a two-time Dean’s List Scholar and a six-time AD’s Honor Roll member.
 
Middle Tennessee junior Sascha Nielson plays a major role in the community service efforts in Murfreesboro as she helped serve the Tennessee Special Olympics, Kings Hammer Center of Excellence, Top Soccer Clinics and MTSU Trick or Treat night. Nielson maintains a 4.0 GPA while majoring in psychology with a minor in neuroscience. She is a CUSA All-Academic Team member as well as a CSC Academic All-District honoree. The junior from Denmark played in 18 matches and made 14 starts in 2023 while logging a goal against New Mexico State and an assist versus Cleveland State.
 
New Mexico State junior Diego Pavia, a biology major with a minor in sports marketing, boasts a 3.38 GPA in his time at NM State. Pavia is a three-time Scholar Athlete as an Aggie and participated in Read Week Activities at the local elementary schools in Las Cruces. The junior quarterback won CUSA Offensive Player of the Year honors and became the second football student-athlete in NM State football history to throw over 4,000 yards and rush for over 1,000 yards.
 
UTEP senior Alyssa Sianez devoted much of her time at clinics the team hosted following UTEP volleyball matches as a tutor at a local middle school. Sianez is pursuing a degree in mathematics with a minor in education. The senior from El Paso was named to the 2023 CUSA All-Academic Team and is a three-time CUSA Commissioner’s Honor Roll member. She entered the 1,000 digs club this past season ranks seventh in the program’s history with 1,144 digs.
 
WKU senior Annah Hopkins served over 30 hours in the Bowling Green Community in the fall of 2023, including outings with Lee Pointe Curbside, Camp Happy Days Talent Show, Crossland Kids Ministry and participated as a volunteer at Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary School. Hopkins made the 2023 CSC Academic All-District Team and was awarded the Ogden Foundation Scholarship Award, the top undergraduate award at WKU. She played an integral role in the WKU defense that owned a 50.0 shutout percentage on the season which was the 36^th best percentage in the nation.