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April 13, 2008
OXFORD - Senior captain Halle Popson was honored Sunday as a recipient of the President's Distinguished Service Award for her contributions to Miami University on and off the field.
Popson was the leading force behind a study to examine the relationship between risk factors for sexual assault, alcohol use, and the alpha female personality. Halle presented her study, with Dr. Rose Marie Ward, at the Mid-American Conference Winter Meetings and received unanimous support from the senior administrators, athletic directors, and the faculty advisors. All of the MAC schools have pledged their support in requesting female athletes participate in this nation-wide study. Because of Halle, the research project was modified, the project advanced rapidly, and it grew in scope to include all schools in the Mid-American Conference. The study has already been approved by the Institutional Review Board.
Her current research involves multiple universities and multiple athletic teams. She's helped in recruiting and retaining many of the sites involved in the study, personally interviewed many of the respondents, and compiled the 200 question survey. Halle has been able to excel in this project--even though it was her very first independent research experience.
Beyond the classroom and research activities, Halle has been an outstanding student-athlete. She is a leader on the Miami softball team, as one of the team's co-captains. Popson has set a number of school records this season, including career hits (229), runs (129), and walks (76).
Miami softball head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly believes Popson's leadership traits go further than just on the field.
"She is committed to personal growth through pushing herself to do things outside her comfort zone, but over the last year she has taken on the role of sharing that passion with her teammates. She leads them and then teaches them to be leaders."
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Halle has modeled a life of service to the community through her volunteer work in New Orleans, the public schools, softball clinics, an AIDs walk, many on-campus multicultural events, anti-smoking initiatives, and with the senior citizen events at the Knolls, a retirement community in Oxford. She has set a standard for grace and maturity that have allowed her to cope with disappointment and tragedy and help her peers and others in the community--wherever she is. The strength she has shown is all the more remarkable as a student-athlete.
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