RPI's MacDonald Named to Lowe's Senior CLASS All-America First Team
TROY, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) student-athlete Kirk MacDonald has been selected to the Lowe's Senior CLASS All-America First Team, it has been announced. A forward, MacDonald was the runner-up for the first-ever Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, presented to college hockey's outstanding NCAA Division I senior student-athlete.
This is the second national honor for MacDonald in the past two days. On Thursday he was named the U.S. College Hockey Online's 2006-07 Unsung Hero, in recognition of his work on the ice as well as off the ice. The 2007 Rensselaer Alumni Association Community Service Award recipient, he is also a candidate for 2007 Coca-Cola Community Service All-America recognition and a finalist for the Hockey Humanitarian Award
A native of Victoria, B.C., MacDonald was Rensselaer's leading scorer with 27 points, including a team-best 12 goals, in 33 games. Eight of his goals came on the power play and one was a game-winning marker. He also had 20 penalties for 40 minutes. In his career, MacDonald, the team's Most Valuable Player in 2004-05 and a two-year captain, had 103 points (47 goals, 56 assists) in 137 games.
MacDonald, who is currently playing for the Albany River Rats of the American Hockey League, is a management major who has been on the Dean's List on multiple occasions. He is also a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and will be inducted into Olympia, Rensselaer's student-athlete honor society.
A cancer survivor, MacDonald is very active in the community, having served in numerous charitable and volunteer activities during his career at Rensselaer, including:
. Helping organize a season-long campaign to raise funds for cancer research and awareness of the importance of being tested and educated about testicular cancer. At each home game during the 2005-06 season, two members of the team volunteered to have their heads shaved if a minimum of $100 was raised per player. Over $11,000 was donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The gift was one of the largest ever donated by a college of RPI's size through a grass roots campaign;
- Helping organize and obtaining prizes for raffles to help raise funds for cancer research and to raise awareness;
- Serving as a spokesman at RPI and at other local colleges for cancer awareness;
- Serving as a member of the committee and Master of Ceremonies for the inaugural American Cancer Society Relay for Life at Rensselaer, which raised over $124,000;
- Being named to the American Cancer Society Youth Council for New York and New Jersey;
- Volunteering for the Troy Turkey Trot & as a youth hockey coach;
- Helping organize a food drive to benefit Unity House of Troy by replenishing the organization's shelves after Thanksgiving;
- Currently working on the Second Annual American Cancer Society Relay for Life at RPI.
CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. The award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college senior athletes who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
