A new class of NCAA Honor Award recipients was ushered into the fold during the Honors Celebration on January 13.

Like their distinguished fellow honorees who have gone before, it is clear they, too, have tenaciously pursued excellence on the field, in the classroom and in their professional pursuits. Anchoring this year's recipients was Theodore Roosevelt Award winner John Glenn.

In accepting the Association's highest honor, Glenn paid tribute to the administrators, coaches, faculty, student-athletes, staff and others on hand to recognize him. "Your impact -- all of you in the audience -- is tremendous and widely felt."

A former football student-athlete at Muskingum College, Glenn made an impact of his own on the nation and the world as a World War II and Korean War veteran, NASA astronaut and later a senator representing Ohio.

On an evening already highly charged with anticipation, this year's Honors Celebration was marked by moving reflections from NCAA Inspiration Award winner Jim MacLaren and emotional tributes to the 2008 Award of Valor recipients, Doug Zembiec of the U.S. Naval Academy and Emily Perez of the U.S. Military Academy. MacLaren, formerly a football and lacrosse standout at Yale, survived two life threatening accidents and is now confined to a wheelchair, a reality, he told the audience, which has allowed him plenty of time to reflect.

"Friends often ask me why I think I've had two accidents and I come back with maybe I just needed to sit down," he said.

While MacLaren might be in a wheelchair, he is doing far more than just sitting around. Two years ago, he established Choose Living, a philanthropic organization with a mission of affectingthose in need through inspiration, compassion and accessibility, and providing children, adults and families with the tools to help them engage life at every level. Even as he aspires to offer hope to others, MacLaren said it's others from whom he draws strength.

"I don't think of myself as an inspiration," he said, "but I allow myself to be inspired by others."

The stories of Zembiec and Perez, both military service personnel who were killed in action in Afghanistan and Iraq, respectively, inspired standing ovations from an appreciative audience. Accepting the award on behalf of his daughter, Daniel Perez thanked her for the person she was and the life she led.

Short video vignettes introduced each of this year's Today's Top VIII and Silver Anniversary Award recipients. Honors Celebration emcee Jack Ford also led both groups through a question and answer session. In both cases, whether they were just concluding their intercollegiate athletics careers or reflecting back, all the honorees said they learned critical lessons from their experiences as student-athletes. One of those crucial lessons University of Nebraska volleyball player and Top VIII awardee said she learned was how to balance all the pressures that come with being a student-athlete.

"It is difficult when there are so many demands place on your time to be an active member in the community," she said. "The important thing I realized was to remember why I came to Nebraska, which was to get an education. Focusing on that helped me get through all the pressure I had to deal with volleyball-wise. School is what you make of it. I was able to create a good balance for myself."

In a lighter moment, Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts said that both she and fellow Silver Anniversary Award winner Anne Donovan were centers for the college basketball teams, but the fact that Donovan towered over her, she said, was proof that most student-athletes go pro in something other than sports. When asked what advice she would pass on to other student-athletes, her message was simple.

"Enjoy the moment."

James Frank, the 2008 NCAA Gerald R. Ford Award winner, also was recognized.

The NCAA Honors Celebration will be rebroadcast February 1 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time.

For a complete list of NCAA Honors Awards recipients, click here.