Here’s how State College’s Elly Haushalter and Elliot Sheehan earned Snyder Award recognition
Elly Haushalter and Elliot Sheehan have accomplished plenty throughout their careers at State College Area High School, culminating in being named 2020 James H. Snyder Award winners.
Without an official senior awards banquet due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Haushalter and Sheehan were both informed Friday by school officials that they had been chosen as recipients of the award. They received the awards because of their contributions to State High and the surrounding community, as well as their athletic contributions to the high school.
The two recipients are friends and were thrilled to win the awards alongside one another.
“Elliot is one of the best guys I know,” Haushalter said. “He’s got an amazing work ethic and he’s just an amazing kid. I’m so excited that he’s winning this with me. It just means so much more that I’m winning it with one of my best friends.”
Added Sheehan: “We’ve worked together a lot over the past three years. We’ve really gotten to know each other and I really like her a lot. ... I was elated for Elly. She definitely deserves this and I was so happy that we got to share the title.”
The James H. Snyder Awards are given each year in memory of Snyder, a former Centre Daily Times sports editor who was killed in an automobile crash in December of 1957. The awards have become an annual county staple celebrating the community’s young leaders, a pair of seniors from each of the county’s five public high schools plus St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy who embrace academics, athletics and community service.
It’s clear that both Haushalter and Sheehan demonstrated all of those traits during their time at State High.
Haushalter ran for the school’s cross country team, as well as its indoor and outdoor track teams. She walked away from her high school career with nine medals in state competitions, including second in the distance medley relay as a sophomore and second as a team in cross country as a senior. Winning those medals are the athletic achievements Haushalter is most proud of as a Little Lion.
“I’ve gotten those throughout my four years, and each state championship was a special one,” Haushalter said. “Looking back, those medals were really fun memories.”
Sheehan ran cross country, as well, while also playing lacrosse.
But for Sheehan, his greatest athletic accomplishment isn’t state medals or number of wins. Sheehan is most proud of his efforts to help found the State High Unified Bocce Team. Unified bocce, cosponsored by Special Olympics and the PIAA, pairs together students with intellectual disabilities and those without.
“The team has really given a lot to me over the last two years,” Sheehan said. “I really feel strongly about including everybody in sports and I think sports are a really good way for the community to come together. ... I really enjoyed all of my time with my teammates. I think varsity sports are fun, but I think the Special Olympics unified sports are really special. I think being a part of that community has been an amazing thing for me.”
Sheehan’s passion for working with Special Olympics extends out of the school confines and into the community, as he’s volunteered with both the Winter and Summer Games. He was inspired by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics, to help carry out the mission of the organization.
“Seeing how she could change the world really inspired me,” Sheehan said. “It was kind of a no-brainer for me to volunteer there. ... I think the experiences with volunteering with the Special Olympics has been amazing.”
Haushalter used her time away from sports to help other athletes get more involved with the community. She co-founded PULSE, a club for student-athletes at State High that gives athletes in opportunities to give back in other ways.
She said she helped start the club because she often found playing sports made it difficult to contribute to the community during traditional hours.
“We brought in speakers and created community service opportunities,” she said. “We meet every other week just to talk about everything that has to do with school athletics and being a part of the community.”
The two winners plan to take what they’ve learned from their time in high school and start to turn it into a career in college.
Haushalter will carry her athletic accomplishments with her to Syracuse, where she’ll run cross country and track while majoring in journalism and finance. She plans to turn one of her two majors into a full-time career, while making the other a passion project.
“I think one of the biggest things is having a passion project outside of your main job,” Haushalter said. “That’s why I like the idea of double majoring. I don’t know if I either want to work in finance or journalism, but I want to make sure I can freelance whichever one I don’t choose.”
Sheehan will take his interests abroad next year when he’ll travel to Switzerland as part of a foreign exchange student program. His family has taken in exchange students in the past and that helped motivate him to take part in the program.
“Welcoming different cultures into our home has been something that we’ve embraced,” he said. “We think it’s really important. My parents opened up the world to me and gave me these opportunities. ... I hope that I can immerse myself in a different culture and then bring it home and promote tolerance.”
From there, the 2020 senior class president will return and attend Appalachian State University in fall 2021 to pursue a degree in political science. He’s hopeful to use his degree to improve the world around him.
“I’ve really been interested in local government,” he said. “My great grandfather, Arnold Addison, was the mayor of State College. He’s an inspiration to what I can become. He inspired me to change the community for the better and give back. I think a political science degree will help me understand how best to bring about positive change in the community.”
Both award winners thanked a litany of people at State High for helping them, including friends, family, coaches, teammates and staff. Their time as Little Lions helped put them in position to win the Snyder Award and will continue to help them as they progress further in life.
“The opportunities State High gave me through clubs are unbelievable,” Haushalter said. “I couldn’t have had that experience without being at State High. Sharing those memories with everybody was unbelievable.”
Sheehan added: “Everybody in the school has enabled me to succeed in the classroom and on the athletic field. They’ve helped me learn important lessons in life.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 7:46 PM.
