Vaandering earns distinguished award from Canada West

CALGARY – Kenzie Vaandering of the University of Calgary Dinos women’s volleyball team has earned the Student-Athlete Community Service Award after taking the volleyball and academic worlds by storm.

The Kinesiology graduate student has presented at the IOC World Conference for prevention of illness and injury in sport.

She did that while posting a 4.0 GPA and hammering down three kills per set for her Calgary Dinos, good enough for 10th in the conference.

In whatever spare time that allows, Vaandering volunteers for her community, as a research assistant for the Alberta Children’s Hospital. She has also spent time as a volunteer mentor for at risk youth, a social support for seniors, and a coach for young volleyball players.

Vaandering has left a lasting impact on the community around her.

“As her coach, Kenzie is the type of player who truly makes me wonder how she does it,” Calgary head women’s volleyball coach Christine Biggs said. “It would appear to a bystander that Kenzie must have discovered the secret to an eight-day week. The truth is that she is a passionate and dedicated worker. With the team, she is intentional in every action, always giving and asking for excellence. She is organized and efficient with her time – most of which is dedicated to making a positive impact on others in her communities. Her leadership to the team has been a priceless asset to our young team this season. She is a superb role model of a student-athlete, and community contributor, an overall great human being.”

Vaandering and the Dinos are set to host this year’s National Championships starting next Friday, March 25 from the Jack Simpson Gym. For ticketing information about this year’s U SPORTS Tournament, visit GoDinos.com/BuyTickets.