Dean of Students Levi Esses was selected to receive the 2016 Bethany Athletic Association Award of Merit.
“I was surprised! It was just an honor to receive the Award of Merit and just to be recognized,” said Esses. “But it wasn’t just an award for me necessarily, it was for all of the people that have helped me along the way — my family, my friends — and their support. It’s always nice to be recognized but it was also very humbling.”
The award letter to Esses says, “This award was established to give recognition to active members of the association who have demonstrated meritorious service to youth or their careers.”
Esses was an active student at Bethany. He said he was the student body president, played on the football team and was also a resident assistant at Bethany College. “I was involved a lot around campus,” explained Esses.
After he graduated, he worked on campus for two years. “I was director of residence life, then I went back to the college just a couple years ago and I was the associate dean of students. Then I had the opportunity to help my old football coach — Ted Kessinger, who nominated me for the award — with the Bethany Football Family Reunion. It took us a whole year of planning, coordinating, getting facilities rented – just all the little details – and it took a lot just to coordinate that. I also go back to my alma matter in the fall to do some radio broadcasting for games.”
These reasons, among others, were why Esses was selected for the award. He received his award at an awards luncheon on Sunday, Oct. 16 during Bethany’s homecoming weekend.
