COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Fighting her way back from surgery to contribute to her team’s success in every way asked of her, Tennessee Tech junior Amity Brown has emerged as a leader in the softball dugout, in the classroom, and in whatever realm available.
Those traits and contributions have led to the nomination and selection of Brown as the Athletic Department's March recipient of the monthly Unsung Leader Award.
"Amity had back surgery last semester and has gone above and beyond to get back on the field,” said softball coach Bonnie Bynum. “She will take on any role that we ask her without question and has accomplished more than expected in the classroom over the last semester. She is always willing to learn new things about the game, and continues to be a great teammate.”
The daughter of Gwendolyn Brown, Amity is majoring in business management. She is a 2014 graduate of Karns High School in Knoxville, and is currently in her third season on the roster of the Golden Eagle softball team. A two-sport athlete at Karns, she helped win three district softball championships as a catcher and outfielder.
She has appeared in 25 games this season, all in a role as pinch runner. In those contests, she has gone 5-for-6 in stole base attempts and come around to score nine runs. After seeing action in 15 games as a freshman in 2014 and 10 games last year, Brown has now played in 50 career games and is 6-for-7 on the base paths and has scored 18 career runs.
“Since the day practices began, Amity has always asked how she can improve not only herself but her teammates, as well,” Bynum said. “Amity is the type of teammate and player that every coach wants to have.”
The Unsung Leader Award was created in 2014-15 in order to recognize leadership by Tech's student-athletes. An award presented each month throughout the academic year.
The previous Unsung Leader Awards for 2015-16 have gone to McKenzie McCloud (soccer/September), Luke Woodason (football/October), Stephen Bush (football/November), Tyler Brazelton (baseball/December), Sarah Brandt (track/January), and Zach Malone (football/February).
"This award recognizes leadership, which many times isn't reflected in headlines or other ways," said Director of Athletics Mark Wilson. "Sometimes it's behind-the-scenes leadership that makes everybody better.
"These young men and women are leaders, pure-and-simple, not doing the right thing for recognition but to make themselves, their teammates, and their teams better," Wilson said.
One student-athlete each month, nominated by members of the athletics staff, is selected and recognized for exemplifying outstanding leadership qualities. The leadership can be shown on the field, in the weight room, at practice, in the classroom, in study hall, on campus, in the community, for a student club or organization.
This award honors a varsity student-athlete who has made a positive impact on their team and the Tennessee Tech community as a whole, through his or her dedication to demonstrating leadership traits, such as:
* Keep Learning, Growing, and Improving
* Follow Through with Excellence
* Accomplish More than Expected
* Inspire and Motivate Others
Unsung Leader Award winners in the initial season in 2014-15 were Ellen Conti (volleyball in September), Austin Tallant (football/October), Geoffrey Sambu (cross country/ November), Courtney Smith (volleyball/ December), Jordan Hopkins (baseball/ January), and Olivia Bennett (softball/February), Haley Davidson (golf/ March), and Mariah Dean (basketball/April).
