NATCHITOCHES  – Northwestern State basketball guard Gary Stewart has won the 2011-12 Southland Conference Steve McCarty Citizenship Award, the league office announced Monday.
 
The annual award recognizes one male and one female student-athlete who exhibit outstanding qualities in citizenship, sportsmanship, leadership and community service. The female winner this year is Central Arkansas volleyball, softball and soccer student-athlete Cristin Curl. She and Stewart will be honored at the Southland Conference Honors Ceremony and Dinner in Galveston, Texas, May 22.
 
It is the fourth time in the five-year history of the award that a student-athlete from Northwestern has earned the honor. Softball's Cary Bruno was the 2008 female winner, followed by women's basketball competitor Lyndzee Greene in 2009. Football player Yaser Elqutub was the 2011 male recipient.
 
Stewart, a native of Vidalia, has demonstrated leadership on and off the court at NSU in two years on campus. Stewart has become a visible presence in athletics, academics and in service to the Natchitoches community as well as his central Louisiana hometown along the Mississippi River.
 
Stewart serves on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was recently nominated as a committee chair for the Campus Outreach Committee after only one year of service. While serving on SAAC, he has assisted in numerous projects, including Samaritan's Feet Week, an event designed to raise enough money to fund a shoe drive for the children of the local community. He has also worked with the Natchitoches Elementary Lab School on a 5K race and participated in a kids' health fest at another Natchitoches elementary school while making numerous civic events with his NSU basketball teammates.
 
During his spring breaks, Stewart returns to his hometown and speaks with students about the importance of studying and preparing for state testing so that they can perform well and go to college. Stewart is able to emphasize the importance of a strong education by example as he was Vidalia's valedictorian with a 4.0 grade point average and an all-state basketball and football standout. At NSU, he is a four-time Dean's List recipient with a 3.50 GPA in psychology. Stewart was chosen for the 10-man Southland All-Academic Basketball Team this past season.
 
Stewart also has spent time working with the Annual Gala for the Women's Resource Center and has organized a community barbeque in his hometown during his summer break. Stewart also participates in a choir which travels around the Vidalia area performing at churches. His dedication to service has allowed him to impact children in the Natchitoches and Vidalia communities, making him a positive role model for those around him.
 
“Congratulations to Gary Stewart, an outstanding young man, on being chosen for this prestigious honor,” said NSU Director of Athletics Greg Burke. “It is testament to Gary, his family and those who were great influences in his upbringing back home in Vidalia. It is also a credit to the environment for personal growth, leadership, character, and citizenship that we promote throughout the athletic department, and is especially a compliment to (basketball) coach Mike McConathy and the Demon basketball staff, and our academic staff, Carrie Crowell and Cary Bruno, for setting the right tone with our student-athletes.”
 
Stewart played in all 32 games, starting three, this past season as a sophomore guard. He had averages of 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game while shooting 69 percent from the free throw line. He posted six double-figure scoring games, including season highs of 13 against Campbell and at Central Arkansas as he helped spark NSU wins. He also scored 12 at nationally-ranked Mississippi State.
 
“We knew when Gary joined our program that he would add a lot of value on and off the basketball court,” said McConathy. “His leadership skills and character were immediately evident. He is very committed to academics. His basketball ability is very good, too.”
 
The co-president of the Central Arkansas' SAAC, Curl's community endeavors include raising money for Make-A-Wish and Samaritan's Feet by organizing the school's Pancake Breakfast. Curl is a KidLife Leader at New Life Church and serves as a coach and mentor at the Fatchmo Volleyball Club. She also helps with Soccer Buddies, a program that gives children with disabilities a chance to play soccer, volunteers at the Conway Kids Triathlon, helps with the children's 5K race in Conway and has raised money for a local child who is battling leukemia.
 
The award is named for the former Stephen F. Austin athletic director, who served at the school for 21 years, including the last 15 as athletic director. McCarty, an Alto, Texas, native, retired from SFA in 2005 and is a two-time graduate of the university. A current member of the SFA Board of Regents, he is also a member of the SFA Alumni Association's “Football Coaches Hall of Honor” and was inducted into the Southland Conference Hall of Honor in 2006.