For Immediate Release:
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Barker, Murphy Named SEC Brad Davis Community Service Award Winners
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Texas A&M baseball’s Rody Barker and equestrian’s Rhian Murphy have been named the Brad Davis Community Service Award Winners by the Southeastern Conference on Thursday.
Barker and Murphy will receive a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship provided by the SEC, and are nominees for the Male and Female Brad Davis Community Service Leaders of the Year, which will be announced later in May. Winners will each receive an additional $10,000 post-graduate scholarship provided by the SEC.
Barker serves as the baseball representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. In his role, he advocates on behalf of the Aggie baseball team to better the student-athlete experience and assisted in canned food drives. Barker has helped serve in other events such as the Aggie Paint-A-Thon where he aided in painting and landscaping the house of a local citizen in College Station, as well as Traditions Night which included organizing small groups to travel across campus to familiarize incoming student-athletes with campus and the Texas A&M traditions. Barker also participated in the Captain Beggs House Renovation where he managed small teams in packaging belongings and assisted moving furniture for a former student who was physically unable.
“We have a lot of great student-athletes who do so much to give back to this community so it’s humbling and it’s a huge honor to receive this scholarship,” Barker said. “Community service is important to me because of what it means to others. I know there are times in life when you need someone. Whether it is brightening the day of children or doing yard work for someone who is physically unable, I was raised to want to be that helping hand and it brings me joy to do so.”
The Boerne, Texas, native has been an active leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes totaling over 120 hours of service in two years. In his leadership role, he helped organize an annual kickball event where he engaged with local youth baseball leagues to motivate and encourage children through playing kickball. Barker also organized and led weekly Bible study with the baseball team, encouraged youth athletes at local events and supported weekly FCA meetings three hours per week.
Barker is graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Psychology in May 2022. Following graduation, he has goals to attend medical school in pursuit of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
Murphy has served on the SAAC committee as the Vice President of Selfless-Service and played a vital role at numerous events including AggiesCAN and Aggies MOVE. AggiesCAN is the nation’s largest student-athlete driven canned food drives that has provided over 40,000 meals each year for the past 20 years. Murphy aided in the planning while volunteering to collect monetary and canned donations at athletics events to benefit the Brazos Valley Food Bank. Through her work with Aggies MOVE, Murphy organized opportunities for student-athletes to show exercises and discuss the importance of nutrition and being active is to local grade schools.
"I came to A&M because of the culture, community and my passion for riding, but the most important thing I gained during my tenure are the relationships I was able to create and nurture through the university's commitment to selfless service.” Murphy said. “We all play a part in making the world a better place and we can start by supporting the local communities and organizations in need where we live, work and go to school. A&M provided that platform for me to follow my own service passion and work with amazing organizations and people. Recipients of this award in past years have been student-athletes who I always looked up to - like Jake Gibbons and my old teammate Ann-Elizabeth Tebow- and I am extremely grateful to be recognized and honored with the Brad Davis Community Service Award. "
The Charlotte, Vermont, native has served numerous hours through Texas A&M’s REVved up to Read program, which gives student-athletes opportunities to join local grade schools and discuss the importance of literacy while reading a book with the children and talk about the lesson it teaches. Murphy co-founded the 12th Man Green Team, which is the first student-athlete sustainability organization. Her duties included educating student-athletes on how to implement sustainable practices into their everyday life, as well as educate faculty members on where Texas A&M can apply sustainable initiatives throughout the athletics facilities.
Already a graduate with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in sport management, Murphy is graduating in December 2022 with a Master of Science in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Murphy’s goal is to consult for organizations on leadership development.
The SEC Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship is named for former Associate Commissioner Brad Davis. Davis succumbed to cancer on March 2, 2006. He had been a member of the SEC staff since 1988, first serving as an assistant commissioner until 1994 when he was promoted to associate commissioner.
For complete coverage of Texas A&M Athletics, be sure to follow the Aggies on social media at @12thMan (Twitter), @12thMan (Instagram) and @AggieAthletics (Facebook) or visit the official home of Texas A&M Athletics at 12thMan.com.
Thursday, May 5, 2022
Barker, Murphy Named SEC Brad Davis Community Service Award Winners
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Texas A&M baseball’s Rody Barker and equestrian’s Rhian Murphy have been named the Brad Davis Community Service Award Winners by the Southeastern Conference on Thursday.
Barker and Murphy will receive a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship provided by the SEC, and are nominees for the Male and Female Brad Davis Community Service Leaders of the Year, which will be announced later in May. Winners will each receive an additional $10,000 post-graduate scholarship provided by the SEC.
Barker serves as the baseball representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. In his role, he advocates on behalf of the Aggie baseball team to better the student-athlete experience and assisted in canned food drives. Barker has helped serve in other events such as the Aggie Paint-A-Thon where he aided in painting and landscaping the house of a local citizen in College Station, as well as Traditions Night which included organizing small groups to travel across campus to familiarize incoming student-athletes with campus and the Texas A&M traditions. Barker also participated in the Captain Beggs House Renovation where he managed small teams in packaging belongings and assisted moving furniture for a former student who was physically unable.
“We have a lot of great student-athletes who do so much to give back to this community so it’s humbling and it’s a huge honor to receive this scholarship,” Barker said. “Community service is important to me because of what it means to others. I know there are times in life when you need someone. Whether it is brightening the day of children or doing yard work for someone who is physically unable, I was raised to want to be that helping hand and it brings me joy to do so.”
The Boerne, Texas, native has been an active leader in Fellowship of Christian Athletes totaling over 120 hours of service in two years. In his leadership role, he helped organize an annual kickball event where he engaged with local youth baseball leagues to motivate and encourage children through playing kickball. Barker also organized and led weekly Bible study with the baseball team, encouraged youth athletes at local events and supported weekly FCA meetings three hours per week.
Barker is graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Psychology in May 2022. Following graduation, he has goals to attend medical school in pursuit of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
Murphy has served on the SAAC committee as the Vice President of Selfless-Service and played a vital role at numerous events including AggiesCAN and Aggies MOVE. AggiesCAN is the nation’s largest student-athlete driven canned food drives that has provided over 40,000 meals each year for the past 20 years. Murphy aided in the planning while volunteering to collect monetary and canned donations at athletics events to benefit the Brazos Valley Food Bank. Through her work with Aggies MOVE, Murphy organized opportunities for student-athletes to show exercises and discuss the importance of nutrition and being active is to local grade schools.
"I came to A&M because of the culture, community and my passion for riding, but the most important thing I gained during my tenure are the relationships I was able to create and nurture through the university's commitment to selfless service.” Murphy said. “We all play a part in making the world a better place and we can start by supporting the local communities and organizations in need where we live, work and go to school. A&M provided that platform for me to follow my own service passion and work with amazing organizations and people. Recipients of this award in past years have been student-athletes who I always looked up to - like Jake Gibbons and my old teammate Ann-Elizabeth Tebow- and I am extremely grateful to be recognized and honored with the Brad Davis Community Service Award. "
The Charlotte, Vermont, native has served numerous hours through Texas A&M’s REVved up to Read program, which gives student-athletes opportunities to join local grade schools and discuss the importance of literacy while reading a book with the children and talk about the lesson it teaches. Murphy co-founded the 12th Man Green Team, which is the first student-athlete sustainability organization. Her duties included educating student-athletes on how to implement sustainable practices into their everyday life, as well as educate faculty members on where Texas A&M can apply sustainable initiatives throughout the athletics facilities.
Already a graduate with her Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in sport management, Murphy is graduating in December 2022 with a Master of Science in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Murphy’s goal is to consult for organizations on leadership development.
The SEC Community Service Post-Graduate Scholarship is named for former Associate Commissioner Brad Davis. Davis succumbed to cancer on March 2, 2006. He had been a member of the SEC staff since 1988, first serving as an assistant commissioner until 1994 when he was promoted to associate commissioner.
For complete coverage of Texas A&M Athletics, be sure to follow the Aggies on social media at @12thMan (Twitter), @12thMan (Instagram) and @AggieAthletics (Facebook) or visit the official home of Texas A&M Athletics at 12thMan.com.
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