Texas A&M's Lowak receives Haier Achievement Award

WAYNE, NJ & COLLEGE STATION, TX -- Angela Lowak, a junior on the Texas A&M University women's volleyball team, has been selected as a recipient of the Haier Achievement Award, which is presented to deserving student-athletes for their accomplishments beyond sports. The announcement of the seventh of eight Haier Achievement Awards being presented this year was made by John Homlish, senior vice president, Digital Living Business Unit for Haier America, one of the world's leading television and appliance manufacturers, and Doug Vance, Executive Director of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

"The Haier Achievement Award program brings to light those student-athletes who have achieved success beyond sports," said Homlish. "By recognizing inspiring student-athletes like Angela we hope to further motivate other young people to achieve and succeed both on and off the field. We commend Angela for her commitment to helping others."

Lowak, a graduate of New Braunfels High School, is a business honors major, the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) team representative and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Pi Beta Phi™ sorority. She has volunteered at numerous service projects on the local, national and international levels including; coat drives and food banks, assisting local citizens become more proficient in English and organizing her sorority's annual dodge ball tournament to provide books to children in need. Through Adventures and Missions she raised her own funds for a trip to AIDS-stricken Swaziland, where she volunteered at the hospital, helped with playground improvement projects and taught Bible study. Additionally she has assisted Aggies BUILD, which constructs mobile medical units to send to third-world countries. She has received numerous honors for her academic achievement and commitment to community service including; the NCAS PlayMaker of the Month, SEC Community Service Team, All SEC Academic Honor Roll, and was a semi-finalist for the Coach Wooden Citizen Cup.

On the court, the 6-foot tall outside hitter who was chosen as a co-Captain this past season, leading the Aggies to a 21-9 record including wins over three Top 20 teams - USC, Kentucky and San Diego. She ranked third on the squad with 2.41 kills and 2.81 points per set and was named MVP of the Texas A&M Invitational for leading the Aggies to the tourney title. She was voted by her coaches and teammates the Texas A&M Excellence Award as the player who best represents the school's core values of respect, integrity, leadership, excellence, loyalty and selfless service.

"It's so humbling to receive this award because it's really not about what I've done, but rather the wonderful opportunities I've been blessed with at Texas A&M. All of my actions are just an overflow of the love I receive from Christ, family, friends, teammates, and coaches. I want to give back because I've been given so much," explains Lowak.

"Angela is very deserving of this award," Texas A&M volleyball coach Laurie Corbelli said. "She has always been very generous with her time. It's easy to forget the big picture when your daily life is packed with academics and athletics. Angela always stays focused on both, plus she manages to find the time to give back to her community in so many different ways. Texas A&M is honored to have Angela as a student-athlete."

Haier will officially recognize Lowak with a plaque and certificate during at an upcoming Texas A&M sporting event. In addition, Haier will donate $2,000 to the Texas A&M University general scholarship fund and award a Haier 48-inch LED HD television to the school's athletic department.

The other Haier Achievement Awards winners announced thus far are: Elisha Hande (North Carolina State University) - a three-year member of the women's tennis team who maintains a 4.0 GPA with a major in economics and a minor in German and has been honored for her work in the community; JaCorey Shepherd (University of Kansas) - a football player that is active in the community through Big Brothers, Big Sisters and is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honoree; Richie Suarez (Rowan University) - overcame a diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Avascular Necrosis (AVN) by undergoing 40 months of treatment to prove the doctors wrong and take the mound for the Rowan baseball team for his junior and senior seasons; Alysssa Brandt (DeSales University) - a three-year member of the women's soccer team and four-year track & field athlete has gone on medical missions to help the less fortunate in Haiti, Hondouras and Ghana since she was 15-years-old; Averee Fields (West Virginia University) - the Captain of the women's basketball team has earned All-Academic honors every year and done extensive work in the community with numerous local organizations including Stepping Stones for special needs individuals; Corey Petros (Oakland University) - starting center for the men's basketball team and four-time Academic Honor Roll selection currently working towards his MBA who is very active in volunteering his time to literacy programs throughout Michigan.

Student-athletes from all sports, all schools, and all divisions are eligible for the Haier Achievement Award. Members of CoSIDA and fans can nominate student-athletes through March 1, at http://achieve.haieramerica.com. Haier will announce eight (8) honorees throughout the year and in March invite fans to vote online for the Haier Ultimate Achievement Award winner. The winner will earn his/her school a $5,000 donation to the general scholarship fund and a Haier 40-inch LED HD television. Additionally, all fans who vote will be entered into a drawing to win a Haier 48-inch LED HD TV.

ABOUT HAIER:
Haier America (www.haier.com/us/) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Haier Group, the world's No. 1 major appliance brand as ranked by Euromonitor International 2014, and a global leader in consumer electronics. Haier employs more than 70,000 people around the world and distributes products in more than 100 countries and regions with global revenues reaching $32.1 billion in 2014.

ABOUT CoSIDA:
CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America, www.cosida.com) was founded in 1957 and is a 3,000-plus member national organization comprised of sports public relations, media relations and communications/information professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the U.S. and Canada. CoSIDA has two primary missions: 1) Assist communications and public relations professionals at all collegiate levels with professional development and continuing education, 2) Play a significant leadership and resource role within the overall collegiate athletics enterprise, thus helping other management groups and their respective memberships deal with the set of communications-based issues that is the most complex and challenging in history.