Andrew Dirks Named CCAA's Impact Award Winner
SAN RAMON, Calif. – With a demonstrated drive toward outstanding citizenship and leadership, UC San Diego track & field student-athlete Andrew Dirks has been named the 2017-18 California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Impact Award recipient.
The Impact Award recognizes a single CCAA student-athlete who has exemplified leadership through participation in community service and engagement activities while maintaining dedication to academics and athletics. Selections are made by the Conference’s 13 member institutions’ athletics staff and the their respective Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
Dirks, a junior sprinter from Yorba Linda, is an active member of the UC San Diego Trion Athlete Council (TAC) and sits on the TAC executive board as the head liaison for Community Outreach and Service.
Through TAC, Dirks has shown exemplary efforts to increase student-athlete involvement throughout the community. The most notable of his efforts in 2017-18 went towards Adopt-a-Family, Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, the CCAA Canned Food Drive, the annual UC San Diego American Red Cross Blood Drive, Triton 5K, and IMPACT and TAC Team-Up!
In the fall, Dirks rallied his track & field and cross country teammates to volunteer their time and efforts at the Toler Elementary Halloween Carnival and Encanto Elementary School’s Career Day. Dirks also took on the responsibility of coordinating the annual Adopt-a-Family event hosted in partnership with the Neighborhood House Association, a local non-profit. Through his outreach, each sports team participated in the event and donated presents to low-income families for the holiday season.
Dirks continued his service efforts in the winter, coordinating with the UC San Diego Center for Student Involvement to host a sports camp at Baker Elementary where 23 Tritons from six different teams participated, encouraging the youth to be active and enjoy sports.
He was also a key cog in increasing visibility for the CCAA food drive, working with UC San Diego’s Housing, Dining and Hospitality department for the placement of additional collection bins in high-visibility areas during the drive. As a result, the Tritons were able to contribute 1,965 donations to the Triton Food Pantry, and on-campus entity that discreetly provides food for college students in need.
He took the lead on two additional service projects during the year, organizing the department’s annual blood drive as well as serving as the volunteer coordinator at the 22nd annual Triton 5K and Festival.
Dirks also acts at the lead contact and organizer for UC San Diego athletics’ enrichment programs, IMPACT and Team-Up! Both IMPACT and TAC Team-Up! Involve student-athletes going off-campus to local elementary schools to educate children about the importance of staying active and participating in sports. Outside of his work with TAC, Dirks is a tutor at the Preuss School UC San Diego, a charter middle and high school for low-income students who strive to be the first in their family to attend college.
“Andrew has a phenomenal relationship with the athletics department,” noted UC San Diego Equity Diversity and Inclusion assistant Megan Gesner. “Whenever TAC volunteers UC San Diego Athletics for a community outreach event, Andrew takes the time to personally reach out to all staff and coaches to explain the purpose and importance of the given event. It is through these moments of attentiveness that Andrew exemplifies the highest quality of leadership, not only as a student-athlete, but as an individual and changemaker.”
Additionally, Dirks was recently named the recipient of UC San Diego’s Karen E. Reis Award for leadership and campus and community service for his impactful efforts.
In order to be considered for the CCAA Impact Award, individuals must be a current student-athlete in good standing, using a season of competition for the year of nomination. Candidates must participate in community service and engagement activities as a member of their team as well as outside of team activities, and demonstrate activities that exemplify leadership.
CCAA Impact Award Winners
2015-16: Lindsey Armstrong, Cal State Dominguez Hills (women’s soccer)
2016-17: Haley Kroll, Chico State (cross country/track & field)
2017-18: Andrew Dirks, UC San Diego (track & field)