Shea Mahoney earned a Southeastern Conference honor Tuesday that has nothing to do with her athletic abilities.
The junior Alabama gymnast was named to the SEC Gymnastics Community Service Team, the league announced. She is one of eight student-athletes across the conference to be chosen.
“There’s no doubt that what drives Shea Mahoney is making a difference in other people’s lives,” UA coach Dana Duckworth said. “She is just one of those people. You know how they have that book called ‘The 5 Love Languages?’ She is acts of kindness.”
Mahoney, who’s originally from Algonquin, Illinois, dedicates spare time to Habitat for Humanity, ReadBAMARead, Smile-A-Mile and UA’s Halloween Extravaganza and Thank-A-Thon.
Then, on top of all that, Mahoney is also the only UA student-athlete who volunteers at the Lewis and Faye Manderson Cancer Center, which is part of the DCH Health System. She’s there at least once a week during the Alabama’s regular season and twice during the offseason. She reached out and asked to help after the Crimson Tide toured the complex last year as a team.
“I feel that I’m called to just share my heart and share my words with people in any way I can,” Mahoney said. “I just felt so called that day to be involved with that place and be involved with the patients and the people in any way I possibly could.”
Reach Terrin Waack at twaack@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0229.
