Overmier Honored with Comcast Community All-Star

Overmier Honored with Comcast Community All-Star

Oct. 20, 2006

Santa Clara, Calif. - Santa Clara University softball player Sara Overmier was named Comcast Community All-Star for the month of September. Eddie Garcia, director of government affairs at Comcast, presented the award to Overmier at the women's soccer match on Oct. 19 between Santa Clara and the University of Portland. Softball head coach Steve Rianda also participated in the on-field ceremony.

Overmier, a senior from San Andreas, California, is intimately linked with promoting ethical behavior on the Santa Clara campus and in the local community. She is one of the recipients of the prestigious Hackworth Fellowship Award in 2006-07. Throughout the academic year, she will research and develop a program that will promote fellow undergraduates to participate in ethical reflection or reflective ethical action. She is also an active volunteer at the Bay Area Women's Sport Initiative (BAWSI), a local non-profit, co-founded by former Santa Clara soccer star Brandi Chastain. The program creates partnerships and mentoring programs for girls to show the beneficial aspects of girls in sports. This month she is also volunteering along with her fellow teammates to carve pumpkins with children at local schools.

"I feel really proud and excited to have been chosen for the Comcast Community All-Star Award," said Overmier. "It is an honor to be recognized for my contributions."

"We are very proud of Sara and all of her accomplishments as a student-athlete," said Rianda. "Getting recognition for her persistence in contributing to the community is excellent. All of our players are involved with BAWSI as a group and are also involved individually with other causes. We are looking forward to our pumpkin carving event with local kids."

Not only is Overmier active in her local community, she has been a very strong presence on the mound for the Broncos softball team. Her teammates honored her strong play and commitment to the team by naming her the Most Inspirational Player in 2005. In 2006, the pitcher and outfielder played in thirty-two contests, finishing the season with a .250 batting average, a 4.94 earned run average, and pitched 62.1 innings.

The Comcast Community All-Star Award is presented to Santa Clara student-athletes, who are active in benefiting their local community. The award was developed two years ago and is presented monthly to a different student-athlete who is positively contributing their time and energy to help others.