Hamilton earns Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award

KAMLOOPS – Graduating member of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team Matthew Hamilton received conference-wide recognition Wednesday, as he was named the recipient of the Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award.
 
CANADA WEST RELEASE
 
A five-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian in the School of Business and Economics, Hamilton is an outside hitter that has grown into a leader for the ‘Pack both on and off the court.
 
“I think this is the most important award any student-athlete can win and it’s a great honour for Matthew Hamilton and our program to receive this honour,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly. “I’m absolutely happy for Hamilton, his transformation from year one to now has been incredible. He’s been great in the classroom obviously with five U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian honours, he’s been great in the weight room, as a volleyball player he’s transformed himself and to cap it off, he’s become a great leader for us.”
 
Originally from Lethbridge, AB Hamilton has spent the last five years in Kamloops where he has become a fixture on campus and in the community. He serves as a leader in the TRU PACE program where he helps mentor fellow WolfPack student-athletes in their academic journeys. He is actively involved with Motionball helping to raise funds and awareness for the Special Olympics as well as helping to raise funds for literacy programs through the Raise-a-Reader initiative. During his time with the TRU Investment Fund Club, Hamilton has helped manage $200,000 of real money in the stock market. Alongside all of that, Hamilton has also volunteered his time to help coach the next generation of volleyball players with the Kamloops Volleyball Association.
 
“I didn’t even know some of the things he has done in the community, so it was great to sit down and go through how he has spent his time off the court – those are things that I think need to be highlighted and illuminated for all student-athletes across the country,” said Hennelly. “It’s exceptional to see someone be great in three aspects of life and that’s what Hamilton has been all about for the last five years.”
 
En route to being named a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian in five consecutive years, Hamilton has earned a cumulative GPA of 4.17, with a perfect 4.33 GPA this past semester. His hard work in the classroom has earned him multiple awards including the KPMG Student Scholars to Business Award, the Chartered Professional and 39 Education Foundation of B.C. Award and finally the TRU Foundation Undergraduate Achievement Scholarship.
 
“He’s never stopped working hard, is an exceptional leader in our PACE program and is exactly the kind of guy that we can use to show student-athletes what you can achieve through hard work,” said Hennelly. “He’s a great role model and someone we will talk about as a legacy piece for our program for a long time.”
 
Hamilton becomes the eighth member of the ‘Pack to win a Canada West award and the second to earn the title of Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner after Colin Carson won it in 2013-14.
 
“I just sent a message to our three captains from last year: Sam Elgert, Corbin Ockerman and Dylan VanSpankeren because they were all five-time Academic All-Canadians and I let them know that they were a big part of this as well, because that’s how legacy is built – on the shoulders of other people,” said Hennelly. “Those guys deserve credit, a guy like Colin Carson that I’ve talked about to our team repeatedly deserves credit and Hamilton is a guy that now goes into WolfPack lore and is someone that we will use as an example for future members of the WolfPack.”