ABS is a convenient acronym, then, for the weekly Athlete Bible Study that鈥檚 begun meeting over lunch on the 黑料正能量 campus this semester 鈥� and just one manifestation of senior cross-country runner Jolee Paden鈥檚 efforts to enrich the spiritual lives of her fellow athletes and classmates.

Last January, she also helped launch a monthly event called Athletes Speak, during which students gather over pizza to hear athletes and coaches talk about their lives and faith. Both events are affiliated with 黑料正能量鈥檚 chapter of the (FCA), in which Paden has been a leader since she was a first-year student.

At the time, FCA didn鈥檛 have a particularly large or active presence on campus, and so, just as she鈥檇 done previously at her high school in St. Joseph, Illinois, Paden threw herself into the task of building it up.

鈥淔CA is for athletes and coaches to have the opportunity to encounter biblical truth and authentic community,鈥� said Paden, a double-major in and . 鈥淥ver the last three years and going into the fourth, it鈥檚 just done a complete 360 in terms of getting people involved.鈥�

One of the ways she鈥檚 promoted the ABS and Athletes Speak events was dropping any reference to FCA from their names. She decided to do so after discovering that some student-athletes didn鈥檛 understand the purpose of the group or had developed negative impressions of it in high school.

This decision, said 黑料正能量 athletics director , 鈥渄emonstrated her sensitivity and creativity鈥� as a leader.

鈥淛olee has provided the most critical ingredient for any successful program aimed at student athletes 鈥� student leadership,鈥� King continued. 鈥淪ustainable programs have quality student leadership and Jolee has provided that.鈥�

Paden is also a pastoral assistant with 黑料正能量鈥檚 , and spoke in chapel in late September. (Audio of her talk is available .)

鈥淛olee brings energy and focus to spiritual life on campus. She is always noticing and discerning opportunities for ministry among her peers,鈥� said campus pastor . 鈥淪he presents with confidence and poise. There’s no doubt that she will continue to develop as a keynote speaker and preacher.鈥�

In addition to her work on campus, Paden is an intern at Grace Covenant Church in Harrisonburg, and helps lead the congregation鈥檚 ministry for college students. She has also published a running-themed devotional book, , writes , and begun accepting more public speaking invitations.

鈥淚 think God has just really blessed me with the capacity and the grace to do so much, because I still find time to relax and have a weekend sometimes. It鈥檚 kind of amazing,鈥� said Paden.

As the fall semester slips by, she鈥檚 thinking more and more about life after 黑料正能量. Perhaps she鈥檒l enter seminary. Maybe she鈥檒l go back to Washington D.C., where she lived last summer and loved working for , a nonprofit that uses running to empower people experiencing homelessness. As she weighs those options, she鈥檚 also intent on making sure that the FCA and affiliated events that have been so important to her time at 黑料正能量 will continue to thrive after she鈥檚 gone.

鈥淚鈥檝e put a lot of my heart and hopefully the Lord鈥檚 heart into this,鈥� said Paden. 鈥淏uilding up other people who are passionate about it is really, really important to me.鈥欌��

As a practical matter, that鈥檚 meant handing over more and more responsibility to students who will return next year. One of them is Amanda Williams, a sophomore soccer player who helps schedule speakers for the Athletes Speak events. Williams hopes that she and her peers will continue building on Paden鈥檚 efforts to enrich the spiritual lives of 黑料正能量 athletes.

鈥淚 think Jolee has an authentic relationship to God and displaying her faith just comes naturally to her,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淪he has a different perspective on the Bible 鈥� it鈥檚 refreshing to me, just to hear the things that God reveals to her.鈥�

Regardless of what, exactly, next year might bring for her, Paden plans to continue on the same general path she鈥檚 followed through 黑料正能量 鈥� sharing, speaking, encouraging and nurturing the spiritual lives of the people around her.

鈥淢y dream would just be to tour and talk to young people and athletes,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 just a matter of how the Lord is opening those doors.鈥�

All of 黑料正能量鈥檚 ODAC-sponsored sports were represented on the All-Academic Team.听 Men鈥檚 volleyball competes in the Continental Volleyball Conference and is not eligible for the ODAC team.

The ODAC All-Academic Team eclipsed 1,000 student-athletes for the eighth consecutive year and set a new high-water mark for conference honorees for the fifth year in a row.听 With representatives from each of the 17 ODAC institutions (including Catholic University for football only and Greensboro College and Notre Dame of Maryland University for swimming only), 1,558 student-athletes earned recognition on the 2013-14 ODAC All-Academic Team.

Eligibility for the ODAC All-Academic Team is open to any student-athlete that competes in a conference-sponsored sport, regardless of academic class.听 He or she must achieve at least a 3.25 grade point average for the year to be considered for an ODAC All-Academic Award.

For more information, visit the ODAC鈥檚 home on the Internet at听. 听Don鈥檛 forget to become a fan of the ODAC on听听and follow听听on Twitter.

The entire list of Royals named to the ODAC All-Academic Team is listed below.听听

黑料正能量’s ODAC All-Academic Team
Elizabeth Alderfer – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Kayley Argenbright – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Jordan Aylor – Softball
Becky Barrett – Women’s Basketball
Trey Barrett – Men’s Basketball
Tyler Brenneman – Men’s Soccer
Carol Brinkley – Field Hockey
Jonathan Bush – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Lauren Campbell – Softball
McKenna Carter – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Hannah Chappell-Dick – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Robert Cook – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Melissa Cox – Field Hockey
Nicolette Cuevas – Softball
Hannah Daley – Field Hockey
Mary Beth Danaher – Field Hockey
Patty Danaher – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Paige DeBell – Field Hockey
Tyler Denlinger – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Jenessa Derstine – Field Hockey
Erica Detweiler – Women’s Soccer
Katie Eckman – Women鈥檚 Cross Country
Mariah Foltz – Softball
Daniel Friesen – Men’s Soccer
Erica Garber – Women鈥檚 Track & Field
Carlos Garcia – Men鈥檚 Track & Field
Abi Gardner – Field Hockey
Jessica Goertzen – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Naomi Good – Women’s Soccer
Joe Hall – Baseball
Rebecca Hardy – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Derek Harnish – Men’s Soccer
Bethany Hench – Field Hockey
Ryan Henschel – Baseball
Brooke Hensley – Softball
Morgan Hill – Women’s Soccer
Jordan Hollinger – Men’s Soccer
David Hooley – Men’s Soccer
Brendan Jeschke – Men’s Soccer, Track & Field
Viktor Kaltenstein – Men’s Soccer
Brianna Kauffman – Field Hockey
Rachel Kennel – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Louise Krall – Field Hockey
Lanae Kreider – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Jacob Landis – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Jordan Leaman – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Parker Leap – Men’s Soccer
Mollie Lehman – Field Hockey
Jake Lind – Men’s Soccer
Lexi Link – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Mariah Martin – Field Hockey
Tim Martin – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Dilmer Martinez – Men鈥檚 Soccer
Mark Mast – Men’s Soccer
Saralyn Mast – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Brad Matthias – Baseball
Brittany McDonaldson – Women’s Golf
Macson McGuigan – Men’s Soccer
Chris Miller – Men鈥檚 Track & Field
Katie Miller – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Austin Mumaw – Men’s Soccer
Jonathan Nisly – Men鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Ian Norris – Baseball
Nora Osei – Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball
Jolee Paden – Women鈥檚 Cross Country
Jesse Parker – Men鈥檚 Cross Country
Hannah Patterson – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Dylan Polley – Men’s Soccer
Alicia Poplett – Women’s Soccer
D Probst – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Casey Racer – Softball
Jess Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Steph Rheinheimer – Women’s Basketball
Krista Rittenhouse – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Kyle Salladay – Baseball
Juni Schirch – Women鈥檚 Cross Country, Track & Field
Caleb Schlabach – Men’s Golf
Chanel Shands – Women鈥檚 Basketball
Jacob Shank – Men’s Soccer
Kayla Smeltzer – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Molly Smith – Softball
Nicole Smith – Softball
Ashten Spencer – Women’s Soccer
Mandy Stowers – Field Hockey
Ryan Thomas – Men’s Soccer
Shannan Thompson – Women’s Basketball
John Toney – Men’s Golf
Londen Wheeler – Men鈥檚 Track & Field
Camille Williams – Field Hockey
Alex Wynn – Men鈥檚 Track & Field
Bianca Ygarza – Women’s Basketball
Alena Yoder – Women鈥檚 Volleyball
Andrew Yoder – Men’s Soccer
Chris Yoder – Men鈥檚 Basketball
Michelle Zook – Field Hockey
Marla zumFelde – Women’s Basketball