CalHOPE Courage Award September 2023
IRVINE, Calif. --- The CalHOPE Courage Award named their first recipient of the 2023-24 school year as UC Irvine women's soccer sophomore
Jenika Davis for the month of September.
Davis joined the program as a freshman in 2022 playing in five non-conference matches early in the season before she was found to be suffering from Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Davis missed the second half of the season and continued to receive treatment into the offseason. With the help of a partnership with Be The Match, Davis was able to find a match for a transplant, and just surpassed six months since the transplant took place.
"I never would have been able to get through what I did without the amazing support systems I had. From doctors to teammates as well as my family, they all provided such overwhelming support that I had no doubt I would bounce back."
Davis' finished her treatment and took some extra time to heal heading up to this current 2023 women's soccer season recently beginning to work out, run, and most importantly spend time with her team.
"It's great to have Jen back at practice every day. She's an inspiration and we love having here to celebrate the small benchmarks and milestones of her continued recovery," praised head coach
Scott Juniper.
Presented since February 2022, the CalHOPE Courage Award, recognizes two student-athletes at California colleges and universities monthly for overcoming the stress, anxiety, and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. At the end of the school year, two of the student-athletes recognized during the year will be selected as annual CalHOPE Courage Award winners and a donation will be made in each of their names toward mental health services. It is presented by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press (AP); CalHOPE, DHCS' crisis counseling and support resource; and the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Wellbeing.
Thanks to the support of many California professional sports teams including the LA Kings, San Francisco Giants, LA Kings, Sacramento Kings, San Jose Earthquake and LA Galaxy, honorees have had the memorable experience of receiving their trophy during an in-game presentation. Others have been recognized by program ambassadors Ronnie Lott and Kristi Yamaguchi as well as the First Partner Jennifer Siebel-Newsom. Additionally, the program has donated $15,000 to support mental health service on campus in the names of our winners. This year each of the 14 monthly awards will be accompanied by a $1,000 donation to support mental health service on your campus.
