The Hockey East MVP, a Humanitarian Award winner and an All-American, former Northeastern women’s hockey goalie Chanda Gunn is no stranger to prestigious awards.
Now to add to her list of honors, the all-time Northeastern saves leader (244) has been announced as the female recipient of the NCAA Sportsmanship Award, which honors student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through good sportsmanship and ethical behavior.
“I’ve been surprised every time I win an award,” Gunn said. “It’s really important to me as an athlete to have good sportsmanship and I’m flattered to win this award. It’s an honor.”
Gunn was honored along with Danny Gathings, a basketball player from High Point University in Virginia. They will be given their awards this fall on their respective campuses and will also be recognized during the NCAA Convention this January in Dallas and at the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance (CTSA) Awards Reception during the summer of 2005.
“At the end of my career, there’s been a lot going on,” Gunn said. “I just got a phone call a couple days ago about this and this is definitely one of my favorite awards. I preach it to all the kids to have good sportsmanship. This is very important to me.”
Each athletic conference and independent institution was allowed to nominate one male and female student-athlete for the award. Fifty-four athletic conferences selected their own Sportsmanship Award winners and then submitted those to the NCAA for National selections.
“All of the awards that I’ve won are different,” Gunn said. “They’re all for different achievements. This one isn’t like being an MVP, where it’s about statistics, and not one dramatic act. It’s more what you do when no one’s looking and it’s really flattering that I won and certainly something that I value.”
Beyond the ice, Gunn is involved in a number of programs including the Northeastern Student Athlete Advisory Board and the Inner City Youth Hockey Program.
She also works with the Epilepsy Foundation Heroes Amoung Us and was a student mentor in the NU athletic training program.
