ANNVILLE, Pa. (Conference News) – The Middle Atlantic Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) has announced the 2015 recipients of the MAC Giant Steps Award. A total of three individuals and one team will receive the award official on Tuesday at the 15th Annual MAC Awards Luncheon at Hood College.

The MAC Giant Steps Award is given to individuals who have overcome adversity while still succeeding in life, who use sports as a vehicle for positive social change, who break down barriers to provide opportunities to those who follow behind them, and individuals who inspire us to do great things using the positive aspects of sport.

“This is the first time we have given the MAC Giant Steps award to three individuals and a team; the award is usually presented to one individual each year,” said Marie Stroman, MAC Associate Executive Director. “But the incredible student-athletes honored this year have truly made a difference through their involvement in sport so it was impossible for the MAC SAAC to select just one honoree. You can see passion and a true love of the game in each of them, inspiring others in their campus communities to be exceptional individuals.”

This year, the recipients of the MAC Giant Steps Award are Fjoralb Cekici of King’s College, Danielle Loiseau of Lycoming College, James Proulx of Widener University and the Albright College Men’s and Women’s Swimming Teams.

Fjoralb Cekici, King’s College
Fjoralb Cekici, a wrestler at King’s, grew up in Albania living with his grandparents and learning to do masonry work. His father passed away at a young age, and his mother moved to America when he was only seven years old. Cekici was reunited with his mother six years ago after the passing of his grandfather in Albania. The passing of his grandfather was hard for him to endure, and moving to a new country [America] where he did not know the language made things more difficult.

Currently a freshman at King’s, Cekici paid for his first year of education with his own money that he earned from doing masonry work in Connecticut—where he moved from Albania six years ago. He now works for King’s College in the Office of Admission hosting prospective King’s students overnight, showing them the community and encouraging them throughout the college decision process.

Over spring break this year, Cekici experienced another tragedy.  On March 1, 2015 he was injured in a house fire at his family home. After waking up in the middle of the night to his house burning, Cekici bravely ran back inside to save his younger brothers. He was immediately sent to Bridgeport hospital’s burn unit, where he was treated for two weeks with second and third degree burns. His family lost their entire home, and as a result, is currently living in a rental apartment until they can rebuild their home. Despite adversity, Cekici has been devoted to the King’s wrestling team. His 3.5 grade-point average has helped rank King’s rank atop Division III in team GPA.

Danielle Loiseau, Lycoming College
Danielle Loiseau, a swimmer at Lycoming, began her senior season poised to make waves as one of the top swimmers in the MAC. As a junior, she spent the fall semester abroad in Germany, and upon returning, she still managed to earn All-MAC Second Team honors in the 200-yard butterfly. In August, the beginning of her final season, Loiseau began swimming distance events which turned out to a natural fit for her as she won two MAC Swimmer of the Week awards by the end of November.

In December, her season took a turn for the worse, and for many, their careers may have come to a close. Just before Christmas, doctors told Loiseau that a planned cyst removal was going to turn into the removal of an ovary and a fallopian tube. The benign cyst that needed to be removed had gotten entangled and estimated to weigh 5-6 pounds. The doctors projected that recovery time from the surgery would be 6-8 weeks starting in early January. The MAC Championships were in mid-February. After slowly training to get back in the pool just two weeks after the surgery, Loiseau was competing by the end of the month. Three weeks later, she finished her collegiate career with a phenomenal and inspiring effort at the conference championship. She finished fourth in the 200-yard butterfly to earn All-Conference Second Team honors. She also earned all-conference honors in the 100-yard butterfly to end her career with six individual All-MAC honors and 13 relay All-MAC honors.

James Proulx, Widener University
James Proulx, a swimmer at Widener, was competing in a club water polo game in September of 2014, just prior to the start of the 2014-15 swimming season. During the water polo game, Proulx was struck in the face at a close distance with high impact. The ball struck Proulx’s left eye. The force of the hit was so great that upon emergency medical evaluation, it was discovered that there was irreparable damage to his eye and sight. As a result of the accident, he is now blind in his left eye.

While he took time from the pool to physically heal, Proulx became an honorary coach until he was able to get back into the pool. He inspired his teammates by attending every practice and meet until he returned. Proulx was back in the pool and swam at this year’s MAC Championships in February. He placed 14th in the 200-yard backstroke and 15th in the 100-yard backstroke. Proulx is also a member of the outdoor track & field team at Widener, and competed this spring.

Albright College Men’s & Women’s Swimming Teams
On September 13, 2014, Albright College sophomore swimmer Matthew Rein tragically passed away in a house fire. The devastating loss of Matt, who was viewed as an unbelievable teammate, friend and competitor, left his teammates shocked, devastated, angry and depressed. To make matters more difficult, the team was on the verge of beginning a new season with a new coach who no one knew and brought a new approach to training—the original training program that led them to several conference championship and individual conference titles. The loss of a friend and teammate, and the departure of their mentor and former head coach had many of their worlds turned upside down with a short time to prepare for the upcoming season.

It would have been easy to shut down emotionally, neglect their school work and track with a lack of intensity. No one would have blamed them for checking out. Instead, they banded together. They committed themselves to succeed in Matt’s memory, showed unbelievable resilience and moved forward together. The recognized Matt at every meet by displaying his initials “MPR” on their shoulders, backs and legs with a sharpie marker as a sign of solidarity. The women’s team went on to a record of 8-1, while the men’s team achieved a 7-1-1 record during the dual season. All were asked to set aside personal goals in favor of a great team goal, which is a testament to their commitment to the culture that they established in Matt’s honor. The men’s team went on to win the conference championship, while the women finished third.