ATLANTA – Western Carolina women’s soccer senior Samantha Hodge has been named a semifinalist for the Ninth Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup, an award given for the most outstanding role model among athletes. The nominees for the 2013 award ceremony were announced by Fred Northup, president of Athletes for a Better World.

The Wooden Cup is given to a collegiate and a professional athlete who have made the greatest positive influence in the lives of others. The award recipients will be announced at a ceremony held in Atlanta in the Egyptian Ballroom of the Fox Theatre on Wednesday, April 25.

Hodge did not make the finalist list. Recipients are considered role models and athletes of excellence both on and off the field.

Hodge is a two-time Capital One Academic All-District III selection (2011, 2012). A forward from Louisville, Ky., she has a 3.95 GPA in mathematics. She is the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) president as well as a Western Carolina Student Government Association (SGA) representative.

Founded in 1998, Athletes for a Better World (ABW) exists to change the culture of sport by developing individual character, teamwork and civic responsibility through commitment to the Code for Living.  ABW’s vision is to have the Code become a part of every sport at every level, so that it becomes the common language and standard expectation of behavior for everyone. ABW provides free support and resources to coaches and athletes across the country who want to teach and live out these values. “The Code for Living” can be found on playing fields, locker rooms and athletic facilities across the country. Currently, ABW players and coaches are represented in every state and several foreign countries.