On May 5 the Student Leadership Council and The Office of Student Life and Leadership presented the Student Leadership Awards to outstanding PVCC students at the Annual Student Recognition Celebration. This year, Puma Athletics had the honor of recognizing three outstanding student-athletes as Golden Puma recipients. The honorees of this distinguished award included sophomore Meghan Barney of the Puma Cross Country and Track & Field teams.
The Golden Puma Distinguished Student Leadership Award, the highest bestowed upon PVCC students annually, recognizes model students who have integrated academic excellence with achievement in areas such as leadership, athletics, community service, fine and performing arts, entrepreneurship and career achievement.
Meghan Barney is a 2019 graduate of Veritas Prep and came to PVCC in Fall 2019 to join the Cross Country and Track & Field programs.
Meghan is a 4.0 student majoring in Nursing. For her academic achievements during her freshman year (2019-20), Meghan was honored as an NJCAA 1st Team All-Academic honoree and a Puma Scholar-Athlete. She is on track for the same recognitions this academic year (2020-21).
In her freshman season of Cross Country (2019), Meghan received numerous accolades. She was a USTFCCCA All-American, named 1st Team All-Region and finished 22nd at the NJCAA Cross Country National Championship (Top PVCC Finisher). During her freshman season of Track & Field (2020), Meghan was named a USTFCCCA Indoor Track All-American. She finished 8th in the Distance Medley Relay and 12th in the Mile at the NJCAA Indoor National Championship.
In September 2020, while the Cross Country season was on hiatus due to COVID, Meghan received her second kidney transplant, having received the first when she was a toddler. In spite of enduring a life-saving medical procedure, Meghan was able to maintain her stellar GPA as well as return to the track in Spring 2021 to compete with her team.
Meghan completed the 2021 Track & Field regular season and is currently training with her teammates to compete in the NJCAA Outdoor Track & Field National Championship in Texas May 11-13, 2021.
Well done Meghan!
You can view the awards show HERE
