Sam Utz was named Student of the Year voted on by the students while Erin Mattone was awarded the Student Achievement Award voted on by the faculty. The awards were presented during an end-of-the year celebration on April 28.
"Sam and Erin represent everything the Center for Sport Leadership is about. Their impact goes well beyond their academic success. Each of them are great teammates who bring a positive attitude and contagious spirit to the cohort," said, Carrie LeCrom, executive director.
Sam grew up in Madison, Virginia. He graduated from James Madison University in 2013 with a Bachelor's of Business Administration in Computer Information Systems. Following undergrad, Sam worked for consulting firm Protiviti before transitioning to the educational sector at Madison County Public Schools. During his time at MCPS, Sam served as the Director of Technology for six years, three years as Title IX Compliance Officer, and was heavily involved in the athletics department. His roles in athletics involved coaching stints in basketball and football, student-athlete weight room programming, social media content and design, and stats and information for boys basketball. Currently, Sam also works with the PGA TOUR serving as Social Media Project Assistant for the Dominion Energy Charity Classic.
Mattone grew up in Little Silver, New Jersey. She graduated from Randolph-Macon College in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a minor in Communications. During her time at Randolph-Macon College she was a student athlete on the Women’s Lacrosse team while working in the Admissions department as a student assistant and tour guide. She also served as one of the team captains for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons. Erin held various internships at Benedictine Schools of Richmond, Madison Square Garden, and RBC Wealth Management prior to becoming a graduate student at VCU. Erin is looking forward to gaining more experience and expanding her knowledge by working as a graduate assistant in the VCU Athletics Development while being in the CSL program.
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