Union College
A native of London, Ontario, Jeff has been one of the offensive standouts for Union the past three years. Among the team's top three scorers each year, he was his team’s leading scorer last season.
During his athletic career, he has been named the team’s Rookie of the Year, the team’s Most Improved Player, and its Unsung Hero. Statistically, his best season was a year ago when he had 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points in 34 games.
Respected by his teammates, Wilson, who has a 2.8 GPA in English, was the unanimous choice to serve as team captain this year.
He has also been an integral member of the Schenectady, NY community.
Among his activities have been “Dutchmen Skate for Cancer” with the proceeds going to the American Cancer Society, the Big Brothers and Big Sisters Night, the Walk for Juvenile Diabetes, and visits to children’s hospitals. What’s more, he visited local schools to talk to the youngsters about education and the importance of reading.
He also created “A Skating Dutchmen Christmas” during which the team sponsored a family via social services and purchased gifts for the family. Plus, he established “Pennies for Points” during which sponsors donated one dollar for every point a Union player earned during a game. The proceeds were then given to underprivileged youth hockey players in Schenectady.
Finally, in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, he created “Dutchmen Skate for 9/11.” The proceeds from that fund-raiser went to the NYPD and NYFD fund and to two local families that were affected by the attack.
Kevin Sneddon, the Union hockey coach, wrote in his letter nominating Jeff for the Humanitarian Award,
“Once in awhile, if you are a fortunate coach, you come across certain individuals who personify what college athletics is all about; someone who is more concerned with others than himself. I have experienced this in our program for the past couple of years with one individual in particular, Jeff Wilson.
“Jeff has not only created and designed several projects, he has literally volunteered for all of our community services projects during the last four years. As well, he has encouraged his fellow teammates to become more involved in volunteer work around the Capital District. His actions appear to be quite contagious.
“Whether he is organizing a team event within the community or merely greeting children after games, he clearly represents our college with class and depicts what college athletics is all about.” |
