Care & Compassion

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- Katie Sharp is a lot of things: Good student, good teammate and solid citizen among them.

And more.

Sharp, a senior on the Central Michigan lacrosse team, has been named the 2018 Bill Boyden Award winner. The award goes annually to the Chippewa student-athlete who best combines the qualities of leadership, athletic ability, community concerns, and loyalty to the university. Bill Boyden earned his degree from CMU in 1935.

Sharp will receive her award at Saturday's CMU-Kansas football game at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

"What sets Katie apart from her peers includes the level of attention she puts behind her selflessness," CMU lacrosse coach Sara Tisdale said. "She continues to find a way to have an impact that is unique and meaningful to her, and it's also something that's important to the community."

Sharp, who serves as president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, is among the leadership of her church ministry, His People, which works with disabled adults and performs other vital volunteer efforts in the community.

"It is an amazing feeling to know that our efforts matter and that make a difference in someone's life," said Sharp, who has a strong background in the performing arts – she was a choir member and a regular in school plays while growing up outside St. Louis – which is a key component to the Boyden Award.

Theater and choir served as solid training ground for Sharp because being a good teammate is every bit as vital in those endeavors as it is on the lacrosse field.

"I think that played a significant role on how I became a leader," Sharp said. "With choir everything had to be perfect. If someone was out of tune, you could tell. Learning how to make something perfect was ingrained in me. That's how I continue to live my life and it makes athletics easier."

Sharp's involvement is also deeply personal. Her older sister, Sarah, is autistic. For Sharpe, it has been a lifetime of compassion, conscientiousness and caring.

Most of all, love.

"She is the one person that loves me no matter what," Sharp said. "She's always proud of me. She'll say, 'Good job Katie! I'm so proud of you!' I love her. I can make her laugh, she makes me laugh equally.

"It helps me when I encounter other people (with disabilities). I see them judgement free and I think that's important. It keeps me level minded. I'm not better than anyone else. It helps me accept everyone for who they are. In the end, we're all similar, we all need the same things."

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