By: Starting on National Girls & Women in Sports Day on February 7 and throughout the rest of the month, we will recognize some of our past Doris B. Hopper Award winners.
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. – February 7 marks the 32nd anniversary of National Girls & Women in Sports Day. In honor of that achievement, we have contacted past Doris B. Hopper Award winners and asked them to recount some of their past experiences in athletics and how playing sports has changed their lives. These profiles will run every weekday through the end of the month.
Our next profile is Lindsay (Stauder) Howard from the Class of 2006. Howard was the 2006 Doris B. Hopper Award winner as a star pitcher with the softball team, as well as a starter for three seasons with basketball. She remains the Illinois College softball leader in career innings pitched, games started, complete games, victories, and saves.
Who was your female sports idol growing up?
Personally, I looked up to male basketball players like Michael Jordan. But more than anything, I looked up to the girls that were on the high school teams when I was younger, and the girls that I played with and practiced with every day in high school.
How did you get started in athletics?
Watching my older sister and other high school players in my hometown as I grew up.
How has athletics impacted your life?
Athletics have impacted my life in so many ways. It has shown me how to be a leader, to have discipline, to be responsible, to have time management, and mental toughness.
Have you taken anything from athletics into your career field?
Every day I do! As a teacher and a coach there are numerous opportunities to take what I have learned from athletics and apply them in my classroom for students and on the field/court for my players.
What was your most memorable moment as a student-athlete?
There probably isn't just one, but knowing that I could be a top student and an athlete through high school and college made me proud because I had to overcome obstacles of time management and responsibility while playing three sports in high school and two sports in college.
Past Profiles
February 9 -
Candace (Norville) Scheuers
February 8 -
Melissa Norville
Febraury 7 -
Hannah McGinnis
