At the age of 15, University of New Haven football team senior running back Chris Liggio lost both his parents in a murder-suicide.
Taylor Herd, a senior guard on the Quinnipiac University women’s basketball team, suffered two ACL tears in the same knee in high school, and her father has not been able to watch her play in college because he is awaiting an organ transplant.
Besides the adversity in their lives, what do they have in common? These student athletes have been named the first recipients of the Hartford HealthCare Connecticut Courage Award. They were selected by a panel of writers and sports information directors from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), the Associated Press and College Hoops Illustrated, as well as the program’s ambassador, former UConn basketball standout and Hall-of-Famer Rebecca Lobo.
At a pair of ceremonies on Tuesday, Dec. 10, Lobo presented each of the honorees with a plaque and their universities with a $1,000 donation in their names for scholarships to help future students achieve their dreams.
Each month between November and April, two inspiring student athletes, one male and one female, will be recognized as Hartford HealthCare Connecticut Courage Award Winners.
“Hartford HealthCare is excited to recognize these two remarkable young student-athletes, who despite setbacks, have overcome challenges to continue to perform their best as both scholars and athletes,” said Jeffrey A. Flaks, president and chief executive officer of Hartford HealthCare. “Our organization’s purpose is to help people live their healthiest lives, and both Taylor and Chris’ courageous stories of recovery and perseverance are an inspiration to all.”
In May, one male and one female student-athlete will be chosen from the 12 finalists as Hartford HealthCare Courage Award Winners. Hartford HealthCare will donate $15,000 to the general scholarship funds for the 12 student athletes selected as finalists, with $2,500 being awarded in the names of each of the two winners and $10,000 on behalf of the other 10 finalists. The winners will be recognized at a special ceremony with Lobo, who served on the Board of Directors for Hartford Hospital, where she was born.
“We thank Hartford HealthCare for helping us create a platform to share the personal stories of courage for student-athletes at colleges and universities throughout Connecticut,” said Doug Vance, executive director of CoSIDA. “We hope the stories of the personal challenges that these remarkable young men and women have battled can inspire other young people to show courage in the face of adversity in their own lives.”
Sports information directors at all colleges and universities in Connecticut can nominate deserving male and female intercollegiate student-athletes through March 30 at HartfordHealthCareCourageAwards.com.