ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Drake University senior Kayla Bell (Bolingbrook, Ill.) has been named a State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Good Neighbor Award recipient, the conference announced Friday, May 6.
Bell, a school-record holder on the women's track and field team, was one of 10 MVC student-athletes to earn the honor. In order to be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be in good academic standing, must demonstrate good citizenship through good sportsmanship and significant community service, and must participate in a sport, during the season of recognition.
Bell was the MVC Elite 18 Award winner during the 2016 indoor track and field season, a 2015 MVC Scholar-Athlete team member and a USTFCCCA All-Academic selection. In addition to owning the school record in both the indoor and outdoor triple jumps she has scored at every MVC Championship since 2014. This year alone, she has finished in the top three in 18 competitions.
Outside of competition, Bell is equally decorated in the classroom. A psychology major, she is a member of Psi Chi, a psychology honors society. In 2015 she was named the psychology department's outstanding junior and in 2016 was honored as the program's outstanding senior.
Bell has also been active in the community as a volunteer at Ruby Van Meter School, Children and Family Urban Movement and Sex Trafficking Awareness. Additionally, she is the chapter liaison for Stand for the Silent and the academic Liaison for the Coalition of Black Students.
Bell joins women's basketball's Emma Donahue and men's soccer's Darrin MacLeod as Drake's recipients of the State Farm MVC Good Neighbor Award in 2015-16.
