The Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation announced the five finalists for the 2025 Hockey Humanitarian Award, presented annually to college hockey’s “finest citizen” for leadership in community service.
For the first time ever, four of the five finalists are female student-athletes.
Keri Clougherty, Boston College (Sr., D, Lynn, Mass.)
Throughout her four years at Boston College, Keri has been a proven leader within the Boston College community, the city of Boston and nationwide. Keri’s unique human-centered approach on and off the ice epitomizes servant leadership. Keri led her team to over 782 hours of community service last year and is on pace to exceed that impact. Working with the Allston/Brighton Food Pantry, Keri helped prepare a community meal for over 500 Boston residents. Supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, she organized a field day for over 100 Best Buddies participants and, to promote inclusive environments, held several open skate sessions for kids with disabilities through Newton Athletics Unlimited. At Franciscan’s Hospital, Keri uplifted the spirits of many adolescent patients through mentorship and emotional support. Volunteering at a local food pantry, she helped organize over 10,000 lbs. of food to provide hunger relief to vulnerable populations. Keri led BC’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day, coordinating with her peers to facilitate athletic clinics to expose over 150 young girls to various sports. In addition, Keri served as an intern at the Campus School at Boston College, which “provides a personalized education for students ages 3 to 22 with extensive support needs, including complex medical needs.” Keri spent hours assisting with sensory activities, reading and classroom learning, while also helping students with physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech pathology.
Kendra Fortin, Bemidji State (Sr., D, Thunder Bay, Ont.)
Since her arrival on campus as a freshman at Bemidji State in the fall of 2021, Kendra Fortin has been an advocate for organ donation, using her platform as a Division I Women’s Hockey student-athlete to inform the Bemidji community about the importance of registering as an organ donor. It is a passion that was borne out of an acute family circumstance. When she was nine-years old, Kendra’s dad, Cory, was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure. He was told he would need a kidney transplant to live. Years passed with no match; meanwhile, Kendra had committed to attend and play hockey at Bemidji State. That’s when she started the “Kidney for Cory” campaign in her hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Thankfully, the campaign was a success: in June 2021, Cory received a life-saving kidney transplant from a deceased donor. Without organ donors, Cory wouldn’t be here today. Since then, Kendra has devoted her time to raise awareness for organ donation. For the past three seasons, she has organized an Organ Donation Awareness weekend at both Bemidji State Men’s and Women’s Hockey games. Each year, Kendra creates informational pamphlets, t-shirts and donor bracelets to be given to fans, teams and staff members. She also works closely with the BSU Athletic Media Relations staff to maximize local media coverage, while organizing social media posts to promote organ donation awareness. The event has evolved to become not just a success, but also a respected tradition that will continue beyond her time with the team and BSU.
Hank Kempf, Cornell (Sr., D, Wilmette, Ill.)
Kempf launched the “Big Red Blocks for Healing” campaign during the 2023-24 hockey season to fundraise for Kesem, a national charitable organization that supports children affected by a parent’s cancer. The original goal of the fundraiser was to raise $5,000; it was ultimately surpassed sixfold, collecting over $30,000 through one-time donations and pledges for every shot Cornell blocked during the season. This year, the fundraiser will support Kesem and the Kids with Courage Foundation, which assists children and young people battling Type 1 diabetes. This season’s fundraiser aims to exceed last year’s total, with the total amount raised split evenly between the two organizations. Beyond fundraising, Kempf has contributed to the Cornell and Ithaca communities by supporting the Newfield Schools Mentor Program; working with the Racker Center, which provides strength-based support for individuals with disabilities and their families; and, participating in local cancer research fundraisers. He also led the Cornell men’s hockey team’s service trip to the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2023, where they built a community center, distributed essential supplies, and provided computer and school supplies, as well as sports equipment, to local schools. To the delight of all, Kempf and his teammates played nightly baseball games with the community’s children.
Raice Szott, Merrimack (Gr., D, Daysland, Alta.)
Szott exemplifies Merrimack’s mission to engage and support the community. Among her many efforts, Szott launched the Merrimack College Women’s Hockey Community Service Committee, which has led to several volunteer and fundraising opportunities in the Merrimack Valley. She has coordinated fundraisers to support local nonprofits, including first responders and the Ellie Fund, a local foundation that assists men and women suffering from breast cancer. Szott has coordinated volunteers for Merrimack’s Relay For Life, for local girls hockey and after-school programs and for Special Olympics Massachusetts. In addition, Szott rallied her teammates to participate in a “Walk to End Alzheimers” event last October. In addition, she oversaw logistics for a number of events, including: a teddy bear toss at a Merrimack College women’s ice hockey home game to benefit Toys for Tots; a “Trunk or Treat” event in October; multiple Skating Strides games for the Ellie Fund, including one this season in January and a team event for the school’s “Relay for Life Walk,” which is held in April. Finally, Szott found time to create a program dedicated to helping young girls build confidence through ice skating and hockey.
Sarah Thompson, St. Lawrence (Gr., F, Ottawa, Ont.)
Sarah Thompson, a three-time finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, launched ‘Sticks Together’ three years ago to provide children in disadvantaged areas with opportunities to learn and grow through the sport of hockey. She has led humanitarian trips for other NCAA and USports student-athletes to Argentina (2022), South Africa (2023) and the Philippines (2024). ‘Sticks Together’ brings sporting and life skills to children worldwide at no cost. As a part of the ‘Sticks Together’ initiative, Thompson partners with CARHA Hockey and Play It Again Sports to collect recycled hockey sticks and other equipment that is used during the trips and then left behind so that the kids can keep learning, playing and having fun. Thompson’s believes that the joy of hockey has no boundaries, driving her to share her love of sport with children around the world.
Along with Thompson, Kempf and Szott are repeat finalists.
Penn State’s Dylan Lugris was honored as the 2024 Hockey Humanitarian Award recipient. Boston University’s J.P. McKersie was the inaugural recipient of the award in 1995.
The 30th recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award will be honored in a ceremony on Friday, April 11 as part of the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four weekend in St. Louis, Mo. Additionally, the Hockey Humanitarian Award Foundation will make donations to the charity most important to each of the five finalists. These donations are made possible with the generous support of the award’s partners and donors.
“In the end, it’s not how many times you touch the puck, but how often you touch a life.”
For more information about the award, visit www.hockeyhumanitarian.org.
