NCU's Fetters Chosen to Represent CCC for Walker Award - Cascade Collegiate Conference Skip To Main Content

Cascade Collegiate Conference

NCU's Fetters Chosen to Represent CCC for Walker Award

Bookmark and Share

LA GRANDE, Ore. – The Cascade Collegiate Conference offices announced on Tuesday that Northwest Christian University senior volleyball player Janel Fetters has been selected as the CCC finalist for the NAIA’s Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award.

The Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award is one of the most prestigious awards in the NAIA and was created as part of the NAIA’s association with Citizenship Through Sports Alliance (CTSA), a group of sports organizations that promote and recognize sportsmanship.

Each year every NAIA school can nominate one student athlete for the award, submitted to the champions of character committee for their conference. Then, the conference committee selects one recipient as their finalist for the award. The nominee must be at least a junior and be outstanding in academic achievement, campus and community leadership, embracing the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character Initiative, and athletic achievement.

NCU Athletic Director Corey Anderson said, “Janel is a phenomenal student-athlete with the utmost character. On the court and off, she embodies the Christ-Centered approach to collegiate athletics that we strive for at NCU. Over the past four years I have seen Janel grow into a strong leader and a strong representative of all that NCU represents through wisdom, faith, and service.”

Cascade Collegiate Conference Commissioner Rob Cashell said, “In reading nomination materials submitted by NCU it is obvious that Janel has a passionate spirit and lives her life with the core values of Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Sportsmanship and Servant Leadership at the forefront. She has also gained the respect and admiration of her classmates, teammates, coaches, faculty, and staff at NCU.”

Fetters will soon complete her collegiate volleyball career as one of the most decorated player in school history. She is the Beacons career leader for kills, attempts, sets played, assisted blocks and total blocks. She was also named the CCC Player of the Week during her sophomore season.

But as impressive as her accomplishments have been on the court, it is her incredible body of work outside of sports that has earned her such a prestigious nomination. Her heart and passion for the less fortunate has played itself out throughout her career through multiple avenues.

NCU Head Volleyball Coach Mike Gaffaney said, “Janel’s level of maturity and accountability as a student-athlete continues to evolve and grow as she uses her experiences to model what it means to be a champion of character. Since her freshman season it became quickly apparent that she was not only comfortable being a leader on our but also enjoyed the responsibilities.”

The 2013 NCU Female Champion of Character award winner served as the Local Outreach Coordinator in the Office of Student Ministries during her junior year where she headed up numerous service projects including “Embrace the Community Day,” when all afternoon classes are cancelled and students, faculty, and staff join together to serve throughout Eugene and Springfield.

Fetters has been a part of the Embrace the Community Day leadership during all four years as well as with the NCU “Touch Project,” a day dedicated each spring to serving Eugene’s homeless population. It was her involvement in the Touch Project which led Fetters to launch an on-going weekly outreach, which she leads every Tuesday morning before heading out to her Student Teaching job.

Fetters has also been a member of the NCU summer missions team to Cambodia in each of the past two summers, working in a country racked with the horrors of human trafficking and an oppressive government. Fetters has worked hand on with young girls who have escaped the sex trade industry, working alongside organizations whose sole mission it to improve the lives of these victims. She will once again apply to join the Cambodia team in 2014 in hopes of returning to further the relationships that she has built over the past two years. (Read more about Janel's most recent trip to Cambodia)

Campus Pastor Troy Dean said, “Janel is passionate about those who often are missed, misunderstood and avoided in our world. These past few years I have watched her plan, rally and engage her fellow students, staff and faculty to serve the homeless in our community with passion, dedication, and focus.”

Dean also commends Fetters for her flexibility and sacrificial nature, which he believes are crucial components of a leader. He said, “Janel is a servant leader of high mark. This past Embrace the Community Day, she gave up the opportunity to serve the homeless she is so called to help, and instead served with her volleyball team in the work they chose. She is sacrificial, gracious and filled with integrity.”

Each year At NCU, Beacon athletic teams elect a Chaplain Captain; someone who assists the head coach in leading team devotionals at home and while on the road, and works to give their team service opportunities throughout the year. Fetters has served in that role for three seasons, in which time she has led the volleyball team through numerous service projects including tutoring at the Children’s Learning Center, back-to-school events for low-income families, and volunteering at an annual Christmas party for foster children in Lane County.

Despite her multitude of commitments, Fetters has also found time to coach a U14 girl’s club volleyball team for the past three years. She also leads NCU’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes branch, which she helped launch in 2011.

In the classroom, Fetters holds a 3.52 GPA, majoring in teacher education. She is also earning a minor in speech communications. She is a three-time Academic All-Cascade Collegiate Conference selection on was named an NAIA-Daktronics Scholar Athlete as a junior. She is currently in the classroom for over five hours each day and takes classes on campus in the afternoon before heading to practice in the evening.

Even in her preparation for a career in education, Fetters has had her eye on the less fortunate. NCU Assistant Professor of Education Brian Kaelin said, ‘While serving in her practicum and student teaching assignments, Ms. Fetters has become an active, collaborative member of her instructional team in a district that struggles with high levels of poverty and homelessness.  She is sensitive to student needs, creative, hard-working and extremely motivated to provide a safe, academically robust and exciting learning environment.”

The Dr. Leroy Walker Champions of Character Award winner will be announced on December 15th. Like any great leader, Fetters is humbled to be a finalist. She said, “I feel honored to be chosen as the CCC candidate for this award. I never imagined that serving the people I love would deserve an award. I just follow Gods calling in my life and do all I can to show the less fortunate His love.”

Dr. LeRoy Walker was President Emeritus of the United States Olympic Committee and served as president through the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games. Dr. Walker was a graduate of Benedict College (S.C.) and was a former president of the NAIA. In 1995, Dr. Walker was recognized with the Service Master-NAIA Distinguished Graduate of the Year Award.

Sponsors