The National Consortium of Academics and Sports announced the winners of its 2008 Giant Steps awards earlier this week. The announcement was made in conjunction with National Student-Athlete Day.

The Giant Steps Awards honor people who use sport as a vehicle for positive social change, to bring awareness to social issues and help student-athletes have a balance between athletics and academics.

The 2008 winners, to be honored at a banquet in November, are Braylon Edwards of the Cleveland Browns, civic leader category; former NFL star Joe Ehrman, coach of the Gilman School in the coach category; The Travis Roy Foundation, community organization category; student-athletes Martel Van Zant of Oklahoma State and Katie Holloway of Cal State Northridge, courageous student-athlete category; Shamila Kohestani, barrier breaker category; and Jon Blais (posthumously), ALS activist, as a “Hero Among Us.”

For more information about each of the award winners, click here.