ELIZABETH (LIZ) SANDER OF CENTENARY COLLEGE, a senior on the Ladies Gymnastics team from Omaha, Nebraska, has been selected the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Character & Community Female Student-Athlete of the Week for the week beginning November 19.
The SCAC Character & Community award honors the efforts of student-athletes who excel in the field of athletics, and also serve their campus and community.
Sander involves herself in numerous volunteer opportunities, including all four years for both the annual Centenary Book Bazaar and World House Service Day. In the summer of 2016 and 2017, she helped as an orientation mentor, acting as a leader, guide, and role model for incoming Centenary students during the orientation process. This past summer, Liz was the new student experience coordinator, where she worked directly with the Director of Student Involvement to hire new staff, plan, coordinate, and execute both summer and fall orientations.
For the 2018-19 academic year, Sander serves as a member of the prestigious Maroon Jackets, an organization of accomplished senior leaders dedicated to serving Centenary College and the community. This year, she also assists both as a student tutor for behavioral statistics and as a lab assistant in cell biology.
Sander has served as a team captain for Ladies Gymnastics each of the last three seasons. Outside of athletics, Sander has shown leadership qualities for the College in many different capacities. The past two years, Sander has served as a Head Ambassador for the Centenary admission office. Her duties include hiring and training new student ambassadors and acting as the liaison between ambassadors and the admissions staff, as well as giving tours and hosting prospective students.
For all her contributions to Centenary and community, Sander was recently awarded the Michael Schimpf Leadership Award for 2018. The award recognizes a senior student-athlete who has shown leadership at Centenary on and off the athletic field and is planning to pursue post-graduate studies. The recipient receives a $1,000 scholarship.
During her collegiate gymnastics career, Sander has received career highs of 9.725 on beam and 9.525 on floor.