University of Georgia swimming and diving seniors Walker Higgins and Jordan Stout have been named to the Southeastern Conference Community Service Team.
For Stout, this is her second-consecutive listing on the team, and the first for Higgins. The pair currently serve as co-presidents of the UGA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
The Community Service Team is named for all 21 league sponsored sports and is designed to highlight athletes from each SEC school who give back to their community in superior service efforts.
Higgins is a devoted volunteer with the Special Olympics, hosting and interacting with over 100 athletes in the Northeast Georgia area through a spring baseball game and annual fall prom. For the past two seasons, he and his teammates have participated in the Swim Across America Atlanta 5K, raising money to benefit the AFLAC Cancer & Blood Disorders Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Through his role with SAAC, Higgins helps with their volunteer efforts, including the annual Spooky Dawgs night, where local youth from the Athens area celebrate Halloween with candy and games.
Higgins participates in guest readings for children at Comer Elementary School and assisted St. Philothea Greek Orthodox Church in putting on their annual Christmas celebration for community members with incarcerated parents, featuring crafts and presents. He has also volunteered for the Athens 106.1 FM St. Jude’s radio fundraiser, the Tri to Beat Cancer campaign, picked up trash from the highway for the Beta Alpha Psi fraternity, provided landscaping for the Florence Crittendon shelter, and assisted the Downtown Ministries inner city outreach program. He has been previously named to the J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll and the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Stout volunteers three hours each week with the Mercy Health Center social services department, providing families and individuals in the Athens area with the resources and information needed to confront issues such as domestic violence, homelessness, and food insecurity. She also works with the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia to organize and package food for individuals with limited access. Through her role with SAAC, she assists with campus-wide initiatives for individuals with disabilities with the Omicron Delta Kappa Honors Society.
In the past, Stout helped with fundraising for a medical center in Peru built by MEDLIFE, organized social events for the Special Olympics, packaged books for local students, and assisted with planting for low-income patients at the Athens Nurses Clinic Community Garden.
A team captain each of the previous two seasons, Stout has earned the Beth Cuddeback Hardest Worker Award, Linda Leith Scholar Athlete Award, and Lisa Coole Award for Leadership. She was named to the Fall 2019 J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Honor Roll, earning one of 14 President Scholar distinctions for a 4.0 GPA with 14 or more hours of coursework. In 2019, she became a member of Palladia Honors Society, the highest honor given to women at UGA. Additionally, she became a member of the UGA chapter of the Blue Key Honors Society, earning the annual Tucker Dorsey Memorial Scholarship, awarded to one outstanding male and female member each year. She is also a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society and the Psi Chi Psychology Honors Society.
