Alanna Hirshman Honored With Derek Thomson Sheely Leadership Award at Frostburg State University

2015 Jun 22

Frostburg State University junior Alanna Hirshman of Charlotte Hall was honored with the Derek Thomson Sheely Leadership Award at the 2014-2015 FSU Leadership Awards Reception.

The Derek Thomson Sheely Leadership Award is presented to the FSU junior, with a grade point average of 3.40 or higher, who best exemplifies the qualities of leadership that Sheely demonstrated. The award includes a $2,000 scholarship and the requirement for 40 hours of community service to increase the awareness of concussions and traumatic brain injuries in sports.

The award is named in honor of Sheely, a student-athlete who played on the Bobcats football team who lost his life in 2011 from a traumatic head injury.

Hirshman is president of the Society for Human Resource Management, vice president of the Student Pride Committee, was accepted into the Sloop Institute for Excellence in Leadership and represented the Beta Gamma Sigma National Business Schools Honor Society at the National Leadership Forum in San Diego. In addition, she studied abroad in Ecuador, tutored students in economics and is studying to become a professor of business and economics.

In her essay for the Award, she wrote: "Happiness to me is when a young student who has been struggling and has given up on themselves, finally has that moment when everything clicks. That moment when you know all of the hours of studying with them and pep talks have paid off. ... That moment, is ... when I know I have become a leader that has made a difference in someone's life for the better."

"I want to be the leader that changes the lives of these students."