by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
A freshman from Turner High School, Serena Escobar is the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Justin Cothran “Life’s Tough, Get a Helmet” Award while sophomore Bailey Letts earned Kansas City Kansas Community College’s Most Valuable Player softball award.
“The Justin Cothran ‘Life’s Tough, Get a Helmet’ award recognizes one of Justin’s favorite sayings and is given to a member of the Lady Blue Devil softball program who embodies everything he loved about coaching,” said KCKCC head softball coach Kacy Tillery.
“He loved coaching the blue-collar, hard-working kids, kids who may not have had all the talent in the world but worked harder than anyone else on the field and in the classroom. Serena was only a pinch runner in one game for us this year but her work habits on and off the field as well as her passion and enthusiasm is something every coach wishes that every kid they coach had.”
An assistant softball coach at KCKCC for 12 years, Cothran was a coach and administrator in the Wyandotte County (WyCo) Softball Association for more than 30 years. Just 55 years of age, he died July 5, 2012, after a 16-month battle with squamous cell carcinoma cancer. Past winners of the award have been Alyssa Lee in 2013 and Lacey Santiago in 2014.
A first team All-Region and second team All-Jayhawk selection, Letts led the Blue Devils in hitting with a torrid .496 average. A Shawnee Mission Northwest graduate, she transferred from Pittsburg State. Signed to play at Austin-Peay State University in Tennessee this fall, she also led in extra base hits with 28 while driving in 30 runs.
Escobar’s greatest contributions to KCKCC, however, came off the field.
“A young lady of deep faith and commitment, Serena was one of three individuals primarily responsible for establishing the Catholic Student of KCKCC,” said instructor Victor Ammons. “She proffered before the Student Senate Select Committee that such an organization would facilitate student learning and dedication, articulating the goals and objectives of the students in a very self-assured and professional manner. At the inaugural Mass celebrated by Kansas City Archbishop Joseph Naumann, Serena not only did the first reading but also introduced His Excellency to the college administration.”
As the organization’s associate coordinator, Escobar will represent the college at the Catholic Regional Hispanic Youth Conference which assembles Hispanic Catholic College students every year to discuss issues of faith on college campuses. She will also be making a trip o Washburn University to meet with the director of Catholic services to review programs and practices.
“As a student of mine in Introduction to Psychology, Ms. Escobar was always on top of her game,” said Ammons. “As a young lady, she consistently sought to learn more; and was never encapsulated by her gender. She often raised the level of academic deliberation(s) in class, both of herself and colleagues and of me. She tended to raise inquiries that went beyond the scope and expectations of the class and course.
“As a rule, Ms. Escobar always had her assignments done and turned in early. I rarely had to discuss issues of grammatical construction: her writing skills are definitely beyond the associates level. Despite a myriad of extracurricular and curricular responsibilities at home and school, she always sought to help her struggling classmates. This is just the beginning of great things to come from and for this young lady: just watch and see… and learn.”
Alan Hoskins is the sports information director for KCKCC.