MARK PETERSON OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS, a senior infielder on the Crusaders baseball team, has been named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Male Character and Community Award Winner for the week beginning on February 4.
Peterson is an involved member on his campus beyond baseball, actively serving in multiple organizations on campus and giving back to a community that has been special his past four year. Peterson leads as a hype man on the Blue Crew, leader and active member of the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and Society of St. Joseph, and representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
The Blue Crew is a group of students that are cheering and organize themes around home Crusaders athletic events. “It truly embodies the spirit of our school,” Peterson explained. “As a hype man, I have the opportunity to inspire this spirit to create the true home advantage for our teams.” Peterson joined the Blue Crew his freshman year and was the first club he was drawn to.
Peterson loves the institution and his passion for the school and athletics has led him to speak with perspective students multiple times per semester during specific events on campus. Humbled with the chance to offer his insight to a perspective student’s questions, Peterson dedicates his time around a vigorous academic and baseball schedule to make perspectives feel welcomed and share his story and deciphering what it means to be part of this great community.
He has used that similar passion to be a student-athlete representative for SAAC for three years.
His sophomore year, Peterson hopped on board with a newly formed FCA chapter. As an FCA leader, Peterson is granted a platform to share his story and relate to the inspirational stories of other students.
With Society of St. Joseph, Peterson has extended his reach to the local community through volunteer projects and spiritual gatherings. The group’s most recent project was a fundraiser to support the people affected by the wildfires in California.
“All of these roles give me an incredible opportunity to make an impact on campus in the community, Peterson stated. “I am honored to be able to give back to this community that has had such a profound influence on my development as a Christian leader and student-athlete.”
Peterson has lettered three seasons with the Crusaders baseball team and has been on the SCAC Spring Student-Athlete Academic Honor Roll in as many years. He is coming off a season where he notched season-bests in batting average (.281), total hits (36), doubles (9), and RBI (27).