Seubert, Lauaki Nominated For Service Award

Oregon's nominees for the inaugural Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award are a pair of student-athletes who have made lasting impressions on their hometowns through volunteerism and community service.

Hannah Seubert from UO track and field and Naulivou "Junior" Lauaki from the baseball team are the first two Ducks to be nominated for the new conference award. Two winners from the 36 total nominees will be announced this spring, but both nominees from each conference school will be recognized on their respective campuses with individual awards.

"Hannah Seubert and Junior Lauaki are model student-athletes at the University of Oregon, as they utilize their platform to create meaningful change while striving for excellence in all they do," Oregon athletic director Rob Mullens said. "Hannah's dedication to service in Eugene and Junior's impact in his home state of Utah produce a strong positive impact on their communities, and we are incredibly proud of their commitment to making a difference.

"They deserve this recognition and strong consideration for the Jackie Robinson Award from the Big Ten, and we are proud of the standards of excellence they set in all that they do."

The Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award was created to recognize conference student-athletes whose values are aligned with those of the award's namesake, the barrier-breaking baseball player from UCLA whose older brother, Mack, competed in track and field at Oregon.

It seems particularly fitting, then, that the university's first nominees for the new award represent the sports of track and field and baseball.

Seubert, a middle-distance runner, is a graduate of South Eugene High School. She accumulated the most service hours of any UO student-athlete in the department's O Heroes program last year, including mentorship with Kidsports, a local nonprofit facilitating youth sports in the community.

"It really means a lot that I'm able to be a Duck, and I wanted to leave a legacy in the community more than just athletic-related," Seubert said. "I wanted to be able to leverage the platform that I have as a student-athlete, to really give back and highlight that it's about more than just my athletic performance."

Similarly, Lauaki has found ways to give back to his hometown, Springville, Utah. Lauaki started a nonprofit called "It's Cool to Care," which connects Springville natives who have excelled in athletics with children who have special needs.

"I just like seeing a happy community," Lauaki said. "Making a happy community makes everyone's life better, so even the smallest gesture, I like to do."

UO baseball coach Mark Wasikowski is especially proud that one of Oregon's first nominees for the Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award happens to play the same sport as Robinson, while embodying values Robinson embraced such as citizenship, integrity and determination.

"That's who Junior is," Wasikowski said. "He's a unifier, he's a person that cares."

Seubert, too, is proud to be associated with the new award's namesake, as one of its inaugural nominees.

"His legacy is so much greater than just what he did on the field," she said. "And at the end of the day that's what I try to embody every single day."

University of Oregon Athletics

Players Mentioned

Hannah Seubert

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