(Peru, Neb.) – At their spring meeting of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) Board of Governors meeting, HAAC officials announced Mitch Boshart of Peru State was selected as the conference's male Champions of Character scholarship winner.  Kelsi Martin of Graceland University was selected as the female winner.
 
The HAAC annually awards a $1,000 scholarship to both a male and female student-athlete who best represents the NAIA Champions of Character initiative.   Each conference institution submitted electronic nominations which were sent to each Board of Governor member to review prior to voting at their annual spring meeting.  The recipient of the award must be a student-athlete who will enroll at his or her institution the following fall semester. 
 
Boshart, a senior-to-be from Wood River, was selected by Peru State's athletic department as their nominee.   In learning of his award, Boshart said, “I was honored initially just to be selected by Peru State to represent my college.   When I learned of this conference recognition, it makes me feel very proud to be a student-athlete, not only at Peru State, but in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.”
 
Recently, both Boshart and Martin were national winners of the NAIA's A.O. Duer Award.
 
Athletic Director Steve Schneider stated Mitch was very deserving of this recognition.  Schneider noted, “Mitch embodies what the Champions of Character is all about.  Mitch is a true role model for all student-athletes.  We are very happy for him and his most recent honor.”
 
Members of the athletic department staff prepared the following nomination for Boshart which was centered around the five core values of the Champions of Character initiative.  The nomination follows in its entirety.
   
“Never be satisfied with what you achieve, because it pales in comparison with what you are capable of doing in the future” is a quote from Rabbi Nochem Kaplan.
 
Mitch Boshart is a student-athlete who is not satisfied with what he has accomplished thus far, and what he can do in the future does pale by comparison.   In addition, with that being said, Mitch is not worried about his personal accomplishments, but more so about what he can do for others, including his teammates on the football team, other Bobcat student-athletes, and those whom he meets in all that he does.  Considering all of this, Peru State is proud to nominate Mitch for the HAAC Champions of Character Award.
 
As a special teams player for the past three years and back-up quarterback, Mitch's examples incorporated the five core values of the NAIA's Champions of Character – Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Sportsmanship, and Servant Leadership.
 
INTEGRITY is a combination of all inward traits that build upon one another to determine who a person really is in life.  Mitch demonstrates those traits through his honesty, his poise, his patience, his determination, and his passion.  As a future educator and coach, these characteristics will be key to Mitch's future success, but have also guided him so far as a student-athlete.  While he is not the elite athlete, it is his determination to be the best he can be and to help his teammates to do the same.  His passion for his sport of football and his work ethic, on and off the field, are key to his current and future success.
 
Perhaps Mitch's strongest core value is RESPECT.  As RESPECT is viewed as treating others the way you want to be treated, Mitch demonstrates this by respecting whomever is before him, whether it be his coach, a teammate, an opponent, or in Mitch's case, his TeamMates' mentee.    As attentiveness is one of the traits related to RESPECT, this is something Mitch does with his mentee, and any others with whom he deals.  He provides the undivided attention that anyone would desire, whatever the situation might be, or whenever the situation might occur.   In addition, Mitch's discretion in terms of how he handles things is outstanding.
 
As RESPONSIBILITY is the social force that binds a person to the group, Mitch demonstrated this during the past football season as he was selected as one of the Bobcat Elite leaders for the football team.  Mitch, along with the other leaders, worked hard to help the team develop one core part of responsibility, that being, a unity of purpose.  The team was much more unified this season, and their record reflected such.  Mitch will again be a Bobcat Elite leader for his senior season if others would emulate some of Mitch's traits and desire to get all on one page, the bottom line success should be even greater in the future.
 
As SPORTSMANSHIP is the following of rules, spirit, and the etiquette of athletic competition, Mitch demonstrated this aspect by modeling the types of behavior expected, both in terms of fairness and with respect to his opponents.   Part of Mitch's ability to be a model for sportsmanship is that he understands the rules of the game, not only football, but other sports.   Mitch stays true in principle in all circumstances and demonstrates his loyalty to this trait in times of adversity.
 
As SERVANT LEADERSHIP is serving the greater good, Mitch demonstrated this by understanding his role on the team and accepting that role.   Mitch is truly one of those who exhibits the core value of servanthood – that caring for and meeting the needs of others before caring for himself.  He is selfless with his work and while he accepts his honors, he does so without the expectations of personal glory.
 
In addition to the above-mentioned information, Mitch is an excellent student-athlete and serves others in many ways.  Mitch was a 2012 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete, a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and has participated in many community service events with his team – including recently organizing one of the trips to the Children's Hospital in Omaha.  In addition, Mitch served as Peru State's Career Athletes' intern this spring and has been recognized by Career Athletes as doing an outstanding job in completing all of the requirements of the internships.  Plus, this spring, Mitch was the student voice for our halftime shows for our basketball teams' radio broadcasts.  Mitch arranged for interviews, conducted them, and submitted them to the local radio station for use.  The radio station employees were very impressed about his ability to work with a diverse group of individuals and doing an excellent job with little training.
 
Mitch's future goals are related to education and athletics.  Whether it is working as a social science educator and coach at the high school level, Mitch will work to make sure all with whom he has contact with will make good choices in the various aspects of their lives.
 
Mitch Boshart is a fine example of what the Champions of Character is intended to produce – a young man who will exhibit the five core values of Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Sportsmanship, and Servant Leadership.
 
The $1,000 scholarship will be awarded to Boshart at the beginning of the 2013 fall term at Peru State.