RICHARDSON, Texas –– University of the Ozarks senior student-athletes Brandon Pierson and Lea Rana have been named winners of the inaugural American Southwest Conference Community Service Award, the ASC office announced on Wednesday (May 20) after a vote of the league’s Directors of Athletics.

The ASC Community Service Award honors a male and female student-athlete who best displays leadership and action in fostering community service on their campus and local community. Each ASC member institution may nominate its campus Community Service Award winner to the conference-wide ballot.

Pierson (Allen, TX / AHS), a soccer player, has performed 120 hours of community service during his four-year career at Ozarks. He volunteered his time with an area-wide Highway Cleanup, a campus Halloween Trick-or-Treat project for children and gave free guitar lessons to young adults. Pierson excelled in the classroom, earning ASC All-Academic Team honors three years. He was a member of Who’s Who Among American College Students and was given Ozarks’ prestigious Max A. Pinkerton Award this year. Pierson’s other leadership positions included serving as Vice-President of FCA and being appointed a Residence Hall Director. During his four-years at Ozarks, he has been a member of Phi Beta Lambda, Baptist Collegiate Ministries, College Republicans, the Student Government Association and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Pierson was recently selected by Ozarks’ students and faculty to be the student speaker at graduation this year. He has completed internships in Washington D.C. and at Crossmark Marketing in Plano, Texas.

Rana (Dallas, TX / Bishop HS), a tennis player, has served diligently as the Ozarks Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President this year. Rana, who also served as the SAAC Vice-President as a junior, spearheaded a number of community-oriented projects. Her volunteer work included helping raise over $700 for a 5K Race for the Cure event held in Little Rock, Arkansas. She also helped raise over $1,000 in the conference annual “Make A Change” campaign during basketball season. Rana’s campus organization memberships included the Student Foundation Board, Resident Hall Association and the yearbook staff. Rana excelled on the tennis court for Ozarks, earning All-Conference honors in both singles and doubles this season. She also picked up an ASC Player of the Week honor this year. Over the past four years, Rana participated in several community service projects with school-age children. She volunteered her time with a local Boys and Girls Club, read to children at Clarksville Elementary School and assisted with Ozarks’ “Kids Day Out.” She also volunteered time with in a campus Angel Tree project at Christmas. Rana’s other extracurricular activities included serving as a campus peer mentor, assisting with Ozarks’ Family Weekend and facilitating a food drive for the underprivileged.

2008-09 ASC COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD CAMPUS HONOREES
MALE