ANTIGONISH: Aliyah Fraser has done something no other StFX X-Women’s basketball player has ever done; receive the Sylvia Sweeney Award.
The award for student-athlete community service was awarded to Fraser at the All-Canadian awards banquet as part of the female Final 8, held in Sydney last month.
The other nominees were Jessica Salanon, McGill, Arianne Soriano, McMaster, and Shannon Majeau, MacEwan.
Born in New Glasgow, the five-foot-ten guard, finished the 2022-23 regular season averaging 12.3 points per game, a 75.4 free-throw percentage and a 40.2 per cent three-point average, and was also named a U SPORTS Academic All-Star for the 2021-22 season.
Off the court, Fraser continues to make an immense impact on the New Glasgow and StFX communities.
Serving as the diversity representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, she volunteers with StFX’s BLACC Society, and is the student-athlete representative on the St. Francis Xavier University Racial Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Most notably, Fraser founded the STFX BIPOC Varsity Association, which aims to collect crucial data on the experiences of BIPOC student-athletes to address their needs better.
Director of Athletics and Recreation, Leo MacPherson, told The Reporter, the StFX Athletic community is extremely proud of Fraser being honoured with the 2023 Sylvia Sweeney Award.
“Aliyah has been a leader and champion for social justice issues during her time on campus and possesses poise and maturity beyond her years,” MacPherson said. “It’s not easy to balance the priorities of academics, athletics and community based initiatives, but Aliyah is a shining example of how to effectively manage these multiple priorities while growing and developing as a young person with a very bright future.”
Last summer, she organized the first Up&Atom Sports and Science Camp in New Glasgow with a vision to bring the joy of sport and the wonders of science to the youth of her hometown. Fraser welcomed over 50 participants at no cost to the two-day camp and plans to continue this initiative in the coming years.
“Aliyah has been the face of X-Women Basketball for the past four years. In addition to excelling on the court, she has also been a stalwart in the classroom and in the community,” StFX Head Coach Matt Spencer said in a release. “I have been tremendously fortunate to have inherited such a standout student-athlete in my first year as X-Women head coach.”