Photo by: Alec Turner/tfp.nyc
Divine Buckrham Receives Patriot League Award of Outstanding Leadership and Character
7/16/2021 11:00:00 AM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Recent Lehigh football graduate Divine Buckrham has been named the male recipient of the 2020-21 Patriot League Award of Outstanding Leadership and Character, the league announced (Thursday). Buckrham and the female winner, Bucknell women's basketball player Abby Kapp, were selected by Senior Woman Administrators (SWA) from each of the league's member institutions.
The Patriot League established the Award of Outstanding Leadership and Character to recognize and honor individuals who demonstrate excellence in leadership and service while participating in Patriot League athletics. One male and one female student-athlete have been recognized since the award's inception in 2011-12.
Provided the minimum conduct standards are met, any Patriot League student-athlete or team is eligible for the award. The definition of leadership and character for this award includes but is not limited to any of the following ideals: demonstrated leadership on the "field" of competition and within the campus community; promotes a leadership vision for the betterment of one's team or teammates; mentorship of teammates; role model on campus; active participation in on-campus and/or community service projects; perseverance in overcoming hardships; demonstration of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
Buckrham was a four-year starter in the defensive backfield for the Mountain Hawks and served as a team captain in the 2021 spring campaign. He has been recognized as a leader by his teammates and coaches throughout his time in Bethlehem and won the Athletics Department's John A. Cable Award as the outstanding graduating male leader at the year-end Student-Athlete Awards Convocation. However, the rest of campus became aware of his voice during his senior year.
The Queens, N.Y. native was not new to leadership. As a three-year elected member of the Lehigh Football Leadership Council, he was used to speaking on behalf of his teammates with the coaching staff on a week-by-week basis. He has also helped initiate a Lehigh chapter of Uplifting Athletes, where he served as vice president for the organization designed to spread awareness and raise money for the rare disease community through the platform of DI college football.
"Divine is one of the hardest working, most motivated and well-rounded student-athletes I have known. He is a leader for the football team on the field, across campus and in the community," Lehigh Defensive Coordinator Mike Kashurba said. "He was a voice of positivity, encouragement, and resilience during the challenges of COVID-19. Divine was there to support and encourage his teammates and the staff through cancellations of spring practice, traditional football season, and a fall shut down. He was also instrumental as a bridge between the staff and players, demonstrating why he was elected by his teammates and coaches to serve as a captain of the team."
During a turbulent year, Buckrham provided an important voice and perspective to conversations on Lehigh's campus concerning social justice and racial equity.
Buckrham won a university-wide Lehigh University Anti-Racist Creative Idea Proposal contest. His suggestion? The idea of creating "Student-led Freshmen Seminars" to create spaces where students can have honest, open conversations with peers to talk about race in America and how to contribute to making meaningful change.
Though his work in that space was not limited to his ideas. Buckrham also served as the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and a member of the Elections Committee within the Lehigh Undergraduate Student Senate. In that role, he worked to foster a diverse, inclusive and equitable community at Lehigh while giving presentations about diversity and inclusion in front of the University's Board of Trustees.
On campus, Buckrham was voted as one of two undergraduate students to be part of an advisory committee to initiate and guide a review of the Lehigh University Police Department (LUPD). Buckrham and his counterpart were tasked with the goal of strengthening relationships between the LUPD and racial and ethnic minority communities at Lehigh and the surrounding community.
Within the athletics department, Buckrham assisted coaches of color in organizing the first Lehigh Student-Athletics of Color (SAOC) group to cultivate an inclusive and supportive environment. He also worked in the Lehigh Athletics DEI Alumni Relations Group's Visions subgroup toward making a more diverse, inclusive, anti-racist and equitable setting.
"I don't know how he has time to do it all," Kashurba said. "Divine has presented in front of the Board of Trustees. He has studied abroad. He has worked with all levels of the university and athletic department, been a team captain and leader, and worked with charity. He has done all this while carrying a full-time course load as a double major in Psychology and Health, Medicine and Society. On a personal level, he has become like family for me, my wife and my sons. It is a special treat for my boys when they get to FaceTime with Divine, and I love that they have him in their lives to look up to. Divine is all about helping to make everyone better and making this world a better place. He is a true ambassador of our program and school."
Buckrham is the sixth Lehigh student-athlete and the third football student-athlete to win the Patriot League Award of Outstanding Leadership and Character. Quarterbacks Chris Lum '12 and Michael Colvin '13 were the male recipients in the first two years of the award's existence.
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The Patriot League established the Award of Outstanding Leadership and Character to recognize and honor individuals who demonstrate excellence in leadership and service while participating in Patriot League athletics. One male and one female student-athlete have been recognized since the award's inception in 2011-12.
Provided the minimum conduct standards are met, any Patriot League student-athlete or team is eligible for the award. The definition of leadership and character for this award includes but is not limited to any of the following ideals: demonstrated leadership on the "field" of competition and within the campus community; promotes a leadership vision for the betterment of one's team or teammates; mentorship of teammates; role model on campus; active participation in on-campus and/or community service projects; perseverance in overcoming hardships; demonstration of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.
Buckrham was a four-year starter in the defensive backfield for the Mountain Hawks and served as a team captain in the 2021 spring campaign. He has been recognized as a leader by his teammates and coaches throughout his time in Bethlehem and won the Athletics Department's John A. Cable Award as the outstanding graduating male leader at the year-end Student-Athlete Awards Convocation. However, the rest of campus became aware of his voice during his senior year.
The Queens, N.Y. native was not new to leadership. As a three-year elected member of the Lehigh Football Leadership Council, he was used to speaking on behalf of his teammates with the coaching staff on a week-by-week basis. He has also helped initiate a Lehigh chapter of Uplifting Athletes, where he served as vice president for the organization designed to spread awareness and raise money for the rare disease community through the platform of DI college football.
"Divine is one of the hardest working, most motivated and well-rounded student-athletes I have known. He is a leader for the football team on the field, across campus and in the community," Lehigh Defensive Coordinator Mike Kashurba said. "He was a voice of positivity, encouragement, and resilience during the challenges of COVID-19. Divine was there to support and encourage his teammates and the staff through cancellations of spring practice, traditional football season, and a fall shut down. He was also instrumental as a bridge between the staff and players, demonstrating why he was elected by his teammates and coaches to serve as a captain of the team."
During a turbulent year, Buckrham provided an important voice and perspective to conversations on Lehigh's campus concerning social justice and racial equity.
Buckrham won a university-wide Lehigh University Anti-Racist Creative Idea Proposal contest. His suggestion? The idea of creating "Student-led Freshmen Seminars" to create spaces where students can have honest, open conversations with peers to talk about race in America and how to contribute to making meaningful change.
Though his work in that space was not limited to his ideas. Buckrham also served as the Chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee and a member of the Elections Committee within the Lehigh Undergraduate Student Senate. In that role, he worked to foster a diverse, inclusive and equitable community at Lehigh while giving presentations about diversity and inclusion in front of the University's Board of Trustees.
On campus, Buckrham was voted as one of two undergraduate students to be part of an advisory committee to initiate and guide a review of the Lehigh University Police Department (LUPD). Buckrham and his counterpart were tasked with the goal of strengthening relationships between the LUPD and racial and ethnic minority communities at Lehigh and the surrounding community.
Within the athletics department, Buckrham assisted coaches of color in organizing the first Lehigh Student-Athletics of Color (SAOC) group to cultivate an inclusive and supportive environment. He also worked in the Lehigh Athletics DEI Alumni Relations Group's Visions subgroup toward making a more diverse, inclusive, anti-racist and equitable setting.
"I don't know how he has time to do it all," Kashurba said. "Divine has presented in front of the Board of Trustees. He has studied abroad. He has worked with all levels of the university and athletic department, been a team captain and leader, and worked with charity. He has done all this while carrying a full-time course load as a double major in Psychology and Health, Medicine and Society. On a personal level, he has become like family for me, my wife and my sons. It is a special treat for my boys when they get to FaceTime with Divine, and I love that they have him in their lives to look up to. Divine is all about helping to make everyone better and making this world a better place. He is a true ambassador of our program and school."
Buckrham is the sixth Lehigh student-athlete and the third football student-athlete to win the Patriot League Award of Outstanding Leadership and Character. Quarterbacks Chris Lum '12 and Michael Colvin '13 were the male recipients in the first two years of the award's existence.
Like Lehigh Football on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for exclusive updates throughout the season.
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