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Yale's Aleca Hughes Wins Sarah Devens Award for Leadership
Courtesy of Yale Sports Publicity
NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Aleca Hughes
(Westwood, Mass.), a senior forward and captain of the Yale
women’s ice hockey team, has been named the winner of the
2011-12 Sarah Devens Award. Given as a joint award between ECAC
Hockey and Hockey East, the Devens Award is presented annually to a
student-athlete who "demonstrates leadership and commitment both on
and off the ice." It is named in honor of former Dartmouth
ice hockey, field hockey and lacrosse captain Sarah
Devens, who died in 1995 prior to her senior year of
college. All female student-athletes in ECAC Hockey and Hockey East
are eligible, and each conference submitted a league nominee for
consideration. Hughes is the second Yale player to earn the honor,
following Jackee Snikeris ’11, who won it last year. She
receives a post-graduate scholarship of $10,000.
Hughes is the 16th recipient of the Sarah Devens Award.
“I am honored to be recognized among the list of prior
recipients and Sarah Devens,” said Hughes.
“Sarah’s legacy as a hardworking and accomplished
student-athlete is inspiring. I am grateful to accept this
scholarship. I know it will help me going forward.”
The 31st different person to captain the Yale women’s ice
hockey team in its 35-year varsity history, Hughes led the team in
assists (11) and points (15) this past season. She was among
Yale’s top four scorers every season of her career, and led
the team in goals (a career-high 10) in 2010-11.
Hughes did not miss a game in her career, finishing with 30 goals
and 31 assists for 61 points in 116 games. She is in Yale’s
career top 20 for goals (20th), assists (t-19th) and points (20th).
She has twice earned Yale’s Mandi Schwartz Award for courage,
grit and determination.
Hughes has also excelled in the classroom, and will receive her
fourth ECAC Hockey All-Academic honor this year. She is an American
studies major and intends to go to business school to learn more
about non-profit management after a few years of gaining work
experience.
In addition to her academic and athletic accomplishments, Hughes
has truly shined in her commitment to community service. In
addition to winning the Devens Award, she is also a finalist for
three national awards for her humanitarian leadership efforts.
Hughes is one of five finalists for the BNY Mellon Wealth
Management Hockey Humanitarian Award, which includes every male and
female NCAA hockey player in Division I and Division III. The
winner of the Hockey Humanitarian Award will be announced in a
ceremony on Friday, Apr. 6, as part of the 2012 NCAA Frozen Four in
Tampa, Fla.
That same day, the National Consortium for Academics and Sports
announces the winners of its Giant Steps Award. Hughes and the
charity she started, the Mandi Schwartz Foundation, are one of
three finalists for in the “Community Organization”
category.
Hughes is also one of five collegiate finalists for the Coach
Wooden Citizenship Cup, presented to two distinguished athletes --
one collegiate and one professional -- for their character and
leadership both on and off the field and their contributions to
sport and society. The winner of the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup
will be announced Wednesday, Apr. 25, in a ceremony in Atlanta,
Ga.
Hughes’ efforts to help save lives have been inspired by her
teammate Mandi Schwartz ’10 (1988-2011). Mandi’s battle
with cancer has led Hughes to start a number of initiatives,
including the Mandi Schwartz Foundation. Mandi passed away Apr. 3,
2011, after battling cancer for more than two years.
Led by Hughes, Yale has organized a pair of major annual events in
Mandi’s name. The Mandi Schwartz Marrow Donor Registration
Drive at Yale -- led each April by the women’s ice hockey,
football and field hockey teams -- has added nearly 2,500 potential
marrow donors to the Be The Match registry and located at least six
genetic matches for patients with life-threatening illnesses. The
women’s ice hockey team also has held a “White Out for
Mandi” fundraiser game at Ingalls Rink each of the past two
falls. Those games have raised more than $40,000.
Hughes started the Mandi Schwartz Foundation to help keep
Mandi’s legacy of helping others alive. In addition to the
White Out, the women’s ice hockey team raised money for the
foundation by participating -- along with the Yale men’s ice
hockey team -- in the season-long “Goals for Good”
campaign. Through that campaign, ECAC Hockey teams competed against
each other to see who could raise the most money for charity.
Hughes is also her team’s representative for Yale
Athletics’ Thomas W. Ford ’42 Community Outreach
Program and has been involved in many team events such as Youth
Days and Skate with the Players. She also has volunteered as a
coach with Yale Youth Hockey.
Hughes and the Bulldogs also continue to spend time with their
adopted teammate Giana, a local 10-year-old girl who recently had
surgery for a brain tumor. Those community service efforts helped
Yale, as a team, earn the New Haven Register’s “Dave
Solomon Memorial Sports Persons of the Year Award” for
2011.
Hughes is a graduate of Hotchkiss School. She was team captain and
All-New England at Hotchkiss and also played for the Connecticut
Stars, earning two bronze medals and one silver at Nationals.
Sarah Devens Award
Winners
1996-97 Kathryn Waldo, Northeastern
1997-98 Sarah Hood, Dartmouth
1998-99 Jaime Totten, Northeastern
1999-2000 Carrie Jokiel, New Hampshire
2000-01 Christina Sorbara, Brown
2001-02 Dianna Bell, Cornell
2002-03 Rachel Barrie, St. Lawrence
2003-04 Lindsay Charlebois, Harvard
2004-05 Nicole Corriero, Harvard
2005-06 Karen Thatcher, Providence
2006-07 Lindsay Williams, Clarkson
2007-08 Lizzie Keady, Princeton
2008-09 Marianna Locke, St. Lawrence
2009-10 Laura Gersten, Rensselaer
2010-11 Jackee Snikeris, Yale
2011-12 Aleca Hughes, Yale
