Feb. 16, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Vanderbilt senior swimmer Jess Cohen is one of 10 student-athletes from the Southeastern Conference to be named to the 2010 SEC Women’s Swimming and Diving Community Service Team, in a release by the league office. The Community Service Team highlights an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.
“Jess is a great ambassador for our team and the community,” head coach Jeremy Organ said. “She is very dedicated in giving back to the community and spends time helping those who are less fortunate.”
Two years ago Cohen traveled to Emori Joi, Kenya for a month with an organization called Free the Children, which focuses on improving lives of children in impoverished areas across the country. After witnessing the first hand struggles of what the local kids went through each day to carry water from the river back to the village, Cohen and a group of volunteers formed a program called Well Worth It. The program was designed to help build or raise funds for a viable clean water source such as a well in the local village. The Charlotte, N.C., native hopes to accomplish half of their program’s goal of $70,000 by May 26, 2010.
Cohen has also spent her last two years serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was voted as the committee’s president for 2009-10 calendar year.
“Jess embodies what being a student at Vanderbilt is all about,” said CHAMPS/Life Skills Coordinator Alison Wenzel. “She balances her athletic and academic responsibilities very well, while spending her spare time on what she can do to make the world a better place. Jess is an outstanding student and gifted athlete, but more importantly, she is even a greater person and servant to the local and global communities.”
The former St. Charles North (N.C.) prep standout is also involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and has participated in other community service projects in the Vanderbilt and Nashville community.
It marks the second consecutive year that Cohen has been selected for the SEC Swimming and Diving Community Service Team.
2010 SEC Women’s Swimming & Diving Team
Jess Cohen, Sr., Breaststroke/Freestyle, Vanderbilt
Brittany Curran, Sr., Breaststroke, Tennessee
Stephanie Hellenga, Jr., Freestyle, South Carolina
Elizabeth Hughes, Sr., Diving, Alabama
Kelly McNichols, Sr., Breaststroke/Freestyle/IM, Georgia
Chatham Penrod, Jr., Backstroke, Kentucky
Ava Ohlgren, Sr., Butterfly/IM, Auburn
Alex Roman, So., Diving, Arkansas
Shanna Spears, Jr., Freestyle, LSU
Gemma Spofforth, Sr., Backstroke/IM/Freestyle, Florida
