Ali Ristas Receives 2010 McMurry Scholar Athlete Citizenship Award – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Field hockey goalkeeper from Dublin, Ohio, recognized for her achievements in sports, classroom and community
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State University College of Social Work recently presented the Third-Annual McMurry Scholar Athlete Citizenship Award to Ali Ristas, a corporate training and development major and a four-year Ohio State field hockey player from Dublin, Ohio. Ristas was awarded this honor because of her achievements on the field, in the classroom and in the community.
The McMurry Scholar Athlete Citizenship Award, founded in 2008 by 1960 social work graduate Preston V. McMurry, Jr. of Phoenix, Ariz., honors student athletes with a minimum 3.0 GPA, who best exemplify the idea of “Education for Citizenship” through significant volunteer service to the community. Coaches representing the 36 varsity sports nominated candidates for this award and a committee of graduate-level social work student leaders selected the recipient.
McMurry was a member of Woody Hayes’ 1957 Championship football team. He is the founder of McMurry Inc., the 12th largest advertising and marketing firm in the United States. McMurry received the 2002 Ohio State University Alumni Association Citizenship Award and was selected as Arizona’s 2001 Philanthropist of the Year.
Ristas’ involvement with the field hockey team has provided her with an array of accomplishments. She was elected as the 2009-10 Ohio State female representative for the Big Ten Student Athlete Advisory Committee. Ristas also held the Community Service Chair for the Student Athlete Advisory Board for Ohio State from 2008-10.
Ristas has participated in numerous off-campus events as well. She has worked on several occasions with the Second and Seven Children’s Literacy Foundation, a foundation established by former Buckeye and current NFL player Mike Vrabel. With the program, Ristas planned the Mother’s Day 5K Run benefitting literacy since Spring 2007, volunteered at the Second and Seven Literacy Foundation Sports Camp in the Summer of 2009 and helped with the Second and Seven Charity Auction in the Summer of 2009. Ristas also planned and participated in Buckeyethon from 2008-10, a dance-a-thon benefiting Nationwide Children’s Hospital with the help of several Ohio State athletic teams.
One of Ristas’ most notable accomplishments comes from her development of the Honorary Buckeye program at Ohio State. The Honorary Buckeye program partners with Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus in order to lift the spirits of ill fallen children. She helped select Olivia Langwasser, a 9-year-old leukemia patient, as an honorary captain for all Ohio State sports. Ristas provided Olivia with the opportunity to meet countless players from Ohio State athletic teams and attend several athletic events. Ristas came up with this program in light of learning of the “Friends of Jacquelyn” program established by Northwestern University athletes.
“Going to Ohio State and being a ‘normal’ student, going to college, playing field hockey here–all of this is awesome. I’m fortunate to have parents, family, coaches, teammates and the athletic department to listen to me when I have ideas and offer to help in any way they can,” Ristas said. “But I’ve also learned that a lot of kids don’t have these opportunities. That’s why the Honorary Buckeye program so special.”
Ristas plans to graduate after completing Autumn 2010 quarter at Ohio State. Upon graduation, she hopes to attend graduate school to earn a degree in hospital administration.
Former recipients of the McMurry Citizenship Award include Alice Jamen in 2008 and Elon Simms in 2009. Jamen received her bachelor’s degree in biology prior to earning a master’s in public health in 2009. She earned the award after playing basketball for the Ohio State’s women’s team and participating in a variety of community service projects. Jamen also earned captain honors in her junior and senior years with the basketball team and frequently worked at the James Cancer Hospital.
Simms, who will graduate with a master’s in social work in June 2010, is a four-year letter winner for the Ohio State men’s track and field team. He held captain honors in his junior and senior years with the team. The McMurry Citizenship Award was awarded to Simms for his work outside the classroom. He coordinates an annual track meet in honor of a deceased friend from Fremont, Ohio, mentors children at the Fifth Avenue Elementary School, works with Franklin County Children’s Services and was recently selected as the most recently featured graduate student for the Council of Graduate Students. Simms is enrolled in the Title VI-E program for Child Welfare and will have a position with Franklin County Children’s Services upon his graduation.
