Sheryl Burt, Hendrix College, Women's Swimming

SHERYL BURT OF HENDRIX COLLEGE, a sophomore from Belton, Texas, has been selected the SCAC Character & Community Female Student-Athlete-of-the-Week for the week ending February 6, 2011.

Burt, who competes in the breaststroke, freestyle and IM for the Warriors, has been an active member in the Volunteer Action Committee (VAC) for two years, which sets up different service opportunities. She is also a member of FCA, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Burt has volunteered in the Conway, Ark., community with the city's Arbor Day festival, helping to set up and run some of the booths. She has also worked with a group that makes care caps for women battling cancer, which the second-year student describes as "an amazing experience, simply because of inspiring stories the women told."

This year, Burt is a Hendrix Big Buddy, and is paired up with Jakyra, a Kindergarten student. Once a week, Burt works with her Buddy for an hour, spending time reinforcing what the child is doing in class as well as spending some fun time reading and playing.

Outside of VAC, Burt is also working with another Kindergartener, Landri. This is a more academic endeavor. As an Early Childhood Education Major, Burt is helping Landri, who is having problems transferring her knowledge of the letters and their sounds into writing. She  has also started working with an after school program. In this program, students from all grade levels come together and Burt and her fellow volunteers help them with their homework and sometimes play educational games.

At home, Burt is the coordinator of a swim lesson program. As a 12-year swimmer, Burt loves to help children discover a love for swimming. "I think it is very important for the children in our community to learn basic water skills since our town has a large lake," said Burt. "With the proper skills, accidental drowning can be avoided."