Okwuosa nominated for Good Works Team®

NEWPORT, R.I. - Allstate Insurance Company and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) have announced Salve Regina University senior Ken Okwuosa (North Haven, Conn.)as one of their 117 nominees for the 2012 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®. Being selected as a member of the Good Works Team® is one of the most prestigious off-field honors in collegiate football and recognizes student-athletes who have committed themselves to helping their communities.

"This year's Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® nominees have some of the most impressive community service resumes in the program's 21-year history," said Kathy Mabe, president of Allstate's West regions and a member of the 2012 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team voting panel. "These young men continue to raise the bar for the impact that student-athletes can have on others, and are an inspiration to Allstate, our agents and our employees."

In order to meet the criteria set forth by Allstate and the AFCA, each player must be actively involved and committed to working with a charitable organization, service group or community service while maintaining a strong academic standing.

Okwuosa truly embodies the spirit of this honor, consistently volunteering his free time to make a difference in the community. Ken is a weekly participant with Child & Family, the largest and most comprehensive social service provider in Newport County, where he helps tutor children and teach coping skills. He has also volunteered at the Eastbay Special Olympics each of the past two years, assisting with set up and breakdown, while also handing out awards, providing athlete support, and leading post event cheers. In addition, Okwuosa has helped to find bone marrow matches with a program called "Be a Match, Save a Life", delivered free home repair services to low-income homeowners with "Rebuild Together", volunteered to sit and read with behavioral issue students, worked numerous football camps, provided canned goods to the MLK Center and the Newport Salvation Army, and cooked and served meals for the hungry at the McKinney Homeless Shelter.

As you would expect, Okwuosa is also extremely visible on campus. He leads prospective students and their parents around the beautiful Salve Regina grounds as a university tour guide. He has been selected to be on the student panel for summer information sessions, and has helped create information packets and media presentations for summer visits. Ken is also on the selection committee for the next Director of Multi-Cultural Affairs at Salve.

On the field, Okwuosa has been a standout offensive lineman for the Seahawks. In 2011, he was selected to the New England Football Conference (NEFC) All-Boyd Division First Team and the Eastern College Athletics Conference (ECAC) Second Team. This past year he helped lead the team to its best record in over 12 seasons with an overall mark of 8-3, including its first ECAC Bowl victory since 1998, defeating Worcester State by a score of 26-6 in the ECAC North-West Bowl.

From the nominees submitted by sports information directors across the nation on behalf of their schools, a special voting panel consisting of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® members and prominent college football media members will select two 11-player Good Works Teams® – one comprised of players from the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and another representing players from the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, Divisions II, III, and the NAIA. The final roster of 22 award recipients will be unveiled in September.

Allstate and the AFCA will launch the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® website on ESPN.com featuring profiles and images of the final team members, as well as the opportunity for fans to vote for the 2012 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team® Captain.