The NCAA News - News and Features

April 14, 1997

Diver, football player receive Giant Steps Awards

Student-athletes at two NCAA institutions are among this year's recipients of the 10th annual Giant Steps Awards.

The awards are given in conjunction with National Student-Athlete Day and are presented to individuals who exemplify the ideals of balancing academics, athletics and life pursuits.

Diver Jodi Norton of Columbia University-Barnard College and football player Lawrence Wright of the University of Florida join Green Bay Packers defensive end Reggie White and former professional baseball coach and player Jack Aker as award recipients.

The awards were announced by Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport in Society, which sponsors National Student-Athlete Day with the National Consortium for Academics and Sports and the NCAA.

Norton and Wright were honored as courageous female and male student-athletes, while White was honored as a civic leader and Aker as a coach.

The award recipients were guests of honor at a private White House reception hosted by President Clinton. They were selected for the awards from a field of 21 finalists (see the March 31 issue of The NCAA News).

Norton has succeeded as a diver despite bouts with lupus erythematosus, meningitis, pericarditis, Lyme's disease and Raynaud's disease. She speaks regularly to students about lupus and regularly visits hospitals to meet with children who have undergone chemotherapy.

Wright, the 1996 Thorpe Award winner as the nation's top defensive back, is founder of the "Right Trak" weekend camp program in his hometown of Miami, where he currently is seeking donations to build a facility to house the program.