The Swope Rodante Vanguard Award Selection Committee is proud to announce that Jefferson High School senior, Daniel Erickson has been selected as the “January Student Athlete of the Month.” The mission of The Swope Rodante Vanguard Award is to celebrate outstanding high school student athletes and coaches throughout Hillsborough County. Angela Rodante presented Daniel with the award as well as a $1,000 check that was donated to the school’s athletic department on Thursday, February 27th during filming of the school’s morning show.
Captain of the cross country and track teams, Daniel was nominated by Jefferson’s Athletic Director, Bernard Cannon. A dedicated athlete, Daniel has been named to the 1st Team All County, placed in the top 5 at the County Meet and placed 16th at the 3A State Meet.
His ambition to go above and beyond holds true in all areas of life and Daniel is committed to giving back to the community. He is the co-founder of Student Alliance for Public Schools, a group working with students at four Hillsborough High Schools to help raise graduation rates. Through this organization, Daniel has performed research and identified barriers to success and the type of support needed to make graduation day a reality for all students. In March, the group will present solutions to local and national leaders at the Tampa Bay Grad Nation Summit. Daniel also serves as a youth representative to the board of directors for America’s Promise Alliance and participates with the Farm Youth Advisory Board as one of 15 members who manage a 5 million dollar service learning investment budget.
Daniel has maintained an excellent GPA throughout high school and plans to attend college in the northeast to study international relations. His hope is to have a career working on sustainable development in Africa.
REQUIREMENTS FOR NOMINATED STUDENTS
- The student athlete’s name and year (juniors and seniors only);
- Current overall GPA (GPA of 3.0 or above);
- Sport and athletic achievements; Community involvement;
- Any hardships overcome by the student athlete;
- and Plans for continuing education.
