Faith Myers had been involved with planning and presenting the PAW-scars for four years, but she wasn’t prepared to hear her name called as one of the winners.
But on April 25, 10 days before she was set to graduate from Memphis University, Myers reaped a big reward for her dedication to the school and community. The volleyball player from Columbus East won the All-Around Tiger award at the PAW-scars, which is a takeoff on Hollywood’s Oscars.
“I wasn’t quite paying attention, and then I heard my name as a nominee,” Myers said. “Then I won, and I was like ‘Oh my goodness.’ It was a complete surprise. To get this and know it was voted on us by our peers, overall, this is probably the most special award I could have won. But before the night even happened, I didn’t even think about it.”
The All-Around Tiger candidates are nominated by student-athletes from other sports teams at the school, and Myers was nominated by the men’s and women’s track teams. The award is voted upon by all the student-athletes at Memphis.
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Myers was a four-time American Athletic Conference All-Academic honoree and a nominee for the nation’s Lowe’s Senior Class Award. She also was an active member in the community through her involvement in the Tigers’ Student-Athletic Advisory Committee, where she served on the Executive Board as vice president and social relations director.
Through the SAAC, Myers made numerous visits to Target House and FexExFamilyHouse in Memphis. Both are residences where families on two of the city’s children’s hospitals can stay.
On the volleyball court, Myers moved into a starting role as a senior and had her best season. She led the Tigers with 709 assists and added career-highs of 246 digs, 17 kills, nine blocks and 22 aces.
“It was kind of bittersweet because personally it was my best season, but as a team, it was probably our worst,” Myers said. “I hate that it worked out like that. Unfortunately with so many new people with freshmen and transfers, we didn’t have as good a year.”
On Saturday, Myers went through graduation ceremonies. She has earned a B.A. in dietetics, and looking to take prerequisite courses in fall and spring for a master’s in speech pathology. She has applied to a couple of online programs and is hoping to apply for a master’s program.
But before beginning those prerequistes in the fall, Myers will head west to working as a wrangler this summer on a Dude Ranch in Durango, Colorado. She will help take care of a herd of about 80 horses and be a counselor to kids who camp there.
Myers grew up on a farm near Elizabethtown. While at Memphis, she volunteered at Southern Reins, an equine therapy center that serves individuals with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities by providing equine horse riding activities.
That is just one of the many things Myers will remember about her time in Memphis.
“No matter what happened with volleyball, I was able to be so involved with everything else in the community that it was completely worth it,” Myers said. “I’ve had so many opportunities because of volleyball. So even if volleyball didn’t work out, that’s not what I’m going to remember from being down here.”
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Name: Faith Myers
High school: Columbus East
College: Memphis
Sport: Volleyball
Career stats: 1,507 assists, 49 kills, 21 blocks, 532 digs, 42 aces
Notable: American Athletic Conference All-Academic honoree, Lowe’s Senior Class Award nominee, Memphis’ All-Around Tiger recipient
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