With a demonstrated drive toward outstanding citizenship and engagement in her campus and community, Chico State track and field student-athlete Nadia Torkman has been named the 2019-20 CCAA Impact Award recipient.
Created in 2015-16, 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 Student- Athlete Advisory Committees (SAAC).
“Nadia Torkman is always willing to go the extra mile in everything she puts her heart into: athletics, school, professional work, community,” noted Chico State compliance coordinator Shannon Hall. “What makes Nadia special at whatever job she has, is her ability to work hard and never lose the desire to challenge herself and learn more. I truly hope that one day my daughter exhibits the tremendous traits that Ms. Torkman embodies every day.”
The senior from Nevada City, Nev., has served as a member of the Chico State SAAC for the past two seasons, and has participated in a multitude of service-based activities and events while a student-athlete for the Wildcats, even prior to becoming a SAAC member.
As part of the women’s track & field team, Torkman and her fellow competitors are active in the Chico community, participating in Chico Creek clean-up efforts, volunteering with area youth in the Chico Area Recreation District After School Program, and serving as a Cats the the Community volunteer, to name a few. Torkman was also seen working the tables on campus for multiple causes and fundraisers, collecting donations for Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Wildcat Food Pantry, Adopt-a-Family, the Camp Fire bake sale, and promoting the
HiYa Rock Project to honor her teammates’ legacy.
She also served as a volunteer and intern for the Community Legal Information Center (CLIC) as well as interning at IlluminAid, formally One Mobile Projector Per Trainer (OMPT). CLIC is a student-run, non-profit organization at Chico State that has been providing legal information to students and community members for over 40 years, as well as providing paralegal internship opportunities with students working directly under CLIC’s four supervising attorneys. IlluminAid uses a three-part intervention program to train, equip and empower individuals in rural, hard-to-reach locations across the globe using to help in educating the world’s poorest billion people through low-cost video technology.
Through her involvement in SAAC, Torkman continued to broaden her knowledge on the inner workings of the athletics department, and in May 2019 was selected as Chico State’s first athletics compliance intern. In this role, she utilized her social capital as a senior student-athlete to spearhead May’s
Scratch the Stigma campaign. Despite being turned into a virtual campaign after COVID-19 drastically altered the look of academics in the spring, Torkman and her SAAC colleagues pivoted effectively. With the intention of breaking the silence and normalizing meaningful conversations around mental health, Scratch the Stigma promoted a message that “it’s okay to not be okay.”
Beyond driving the campaign to completion, she carried her voice even further, serving as a panelist for
Beyond the Bench: Mental Health vs. the Stigma during Mental Health Awareness Month.
“I’m so proud that Nadia’s efforts on this project are being recognized,” remarked Chico State Director of Athletics Anita Barker. “Elevating awareness about mental health has been a passion of hers during her time at Chico State, and she didn’t let the circumstances of the spring deter her from accomplishing that goal. Opening the dialogue about mental health is more important than ever. Just as this award states, she has made a significant impact on our program. We are so proud of her!”
Not only active in the community, Torkman was a valuable member of the top-notch Chico State women’s track and field team where she competed in the high jump and javelin for the Wildcats, 2017 CCAA Champions. She did all this while graduating in the spring of 2020 with degrees in both international relations and political science.
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.
Of the five award winners, Torkman is the third Chico State student-athlete to be recognized, joining Haley Kroll (2016-17, women’s cross country and track & field) and Claire Wayne (2018-19, softball).
CCAA Impact Award Winners
2015-16: Lindsey Armstrong, Cal State Dominguez Hills (women’s soccer)
2016-17: Haley Kroll, Chico State (women’s cross country/track & field)
2017-18: Andrew Dirks, UC San Diego (men’s track & field)
2018-19: Claire Wayne, Chico State (softball)
2019-20: Nadia Torkman, Chico State (women’s track & field)