INDIANAPOLIS - The Great Midwest Athletic Conference was proud to reveal Trevecca Nazarene’s Tasha Adams as the recipient of the 2020-21 Faculty Mentor of the Year award winner on Thursday afternoon.

This is the eighth announcement of the conference award since its inception during the 2013-14 academic year. Nominees were brought forward and voted upon by institutional Great Midwest Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representatives.

Adams will also be on the ballot for consideration at the NCAA level for the Dr. Dave Pariser Faculty Mentor Award as selected by the National Division II SAAC.

This is Trevecca’s fourth time receiving the award as it was also recipients of the yearly honor in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2016-17.

Adams is an associate professor in the Graduate Physician Assistant Program at Trevecca and also runs the on-campus clinic. In her dual role as professor and campus clinician, she took on the task of organizing and executing all COVID-19 testing for athletics.

“I am extremely humbled by this honor,” said Adams. “It is a privilege to serve our amazing student-athletes here at Trevecca Nazarene University, especially during this challenging year. We have an incredible team of athletic trainers, student health providers and athletic support staff, whose goal is to help our student-athletes pursue their passion on the field in the safest way possible. Our student-athletes rose to the occasion in this difficult year and showed amazing character in the process.”

Adams demonstrated extreme personal dedication to the mental health, as well as the physical health and safety of Trevecca’s student-athletes over the past year.  Trevecca baseball student-athlete and SAAC representative, Bryant Goolsby, recognized her meaningful contributions to the well-being of all student-athletes over the course of the year.

“Tasha is a very caring person who cares about ALL our athletes,” said Goolsby. “She wants us to be well in all areas of our lives. During this crazy COVID year, Tasha gave special attention to the emotional and mental health of our athletes. I knew I could always call and talk to her about anything.”

Trevecca volleyball student-athletes, Claire Hindman and Leilani Victor, also acknowledged Adams' impact throughout the 2020-21 academic year.

“Tasha is smart and professional, has a great sense of humor, and is extremely helpful to all the athletes,” said Hindman. “She gives a great sense of comfort by reassuring us, ‘this is normal and it’s going to be OK!’ She is quick to smile, quick to ask ‘How are you doing?,’ and gives us confidence that we are loved and cared for.”

“Tasha has such a big and sincere heart for all of our athletes,” said Victor. “For me personally, she was beyond supportive and caring throughout my quarantine experiences and remembered me and details about me after just our first interaction. Additionally, she has been a great mentor to me as I am working towards PA school. She showed me the heart, character, and attitude it takes to enter the PA workforce. Secondly, she reached out to her community of PA’s to help me gain shadowing experiences for my resume which was a great challenge during the pandemic.”

TNU Director of Athletics, Mark Elliott, described Adams as the ‘leading impact mentor with our student-athletes professionally and personally.’ Adams performed daily calls with student-athletes that tested positive for COVID-19 and developed great rapport with each of them.

Adams has also assisted many student-athletes that have applied and been accepted into Trevecca’s PA program.

“Tasha has established a strong commitment to prepare student-athletes to excel in their endeavors after their athletic careers by showing them what it looks like to be a caring health care professional and also an associate professor,” said AD Elliott.

The Great Midwest Faculty Mentor of the Year is annually chosen based on representation of the NCAA Division II core values, mentorship with student-athletes and a strong commitment to helping student-athletes excel in future endeavors following the conclusion of their athletic careers.

Other finalists for the 2020-21 Great Midwest Faculty Mentor of the Year award included Dr. Davis “Pete” Peterson, Ed.D. (Cedarville), Dr. Peter Jennings (Hillsdale) and Hannah Fairbanks (Lake Erie).