Soccer state champion and hockey captain senior Aurelia Meza was bestowed the school’s Athena Award earlier this month. The Award is granted to a senior female athlete who has “distinguished herself in special individual athletic achievement or superior achievements in one or more sports.” The athlete is selected by her individual school independently from the Athena Awards Committee.

“I was honestly very shocked that I got it,” Meza said. But her achievements are ample evidence of her Athena spirit. She has participated on the varsity squad for hockey and soccer all four years of her high school career. Was an aggressive defender on the Phoenix hockey team and led her soccer team to state finals twice as the starting defender and took home the championship this year. “I am very proud of myself and my accomplishments,” Meza said.

Outside of her accomplishments during games, as a teammate, she has the same positive impact in and out of the season. Soccer teammate Lucia Gonzalez looks up to Meza as a role model for the passion and dedication she puts into the game. Gonzalez is with Meza on the team, and after the season ended. “She is so hardworking and encouraging and you can tell she loves whatever sport she’s playing and all of her teammates,” Gonzalez said

When it comes to her recognition of this award, she hopes people can look past just her athletic success to the broader issue. “I think it’s important for people to see athletes of color succeed and continue to play sports, especially for younger generations,” Meza said.

She hopes that her demonstrations of atheism will encourage other athletes of color to continue striving for success in their sports. When looking at the data, it can be seen that role models like Meza are necessary. Across the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s three divisions, only 32% of the athletes were athletes of color in the 2021-2 season, the highest percentages being in basketball and track. The lowest is in one of Meza’s sports ice hockey. Meza’s success in her sports continues to fuel other athletes’ passion and perseverance. “I hope that I show that athletes of color can continue to play sports and that you will matter and have an impact,” Meza said.