ISU, World Cup Soccer Player Maria Sanchez to be recognized as “Hometown Hero”
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The following is a press release form Idaho State University.
POCATELLO — ISU soccer’s sophomore forward Maria Sanchez will be recognized by the JRM Foundation for Humanity as one of 10 recipients of the Idaho’s Hometown Hero award Saturday, Oct. 10 at the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center. The evening will begin with a partner expo at 4:30 p.m., followed by the Idaho’s Hometown Hero ceremony at 6 p.m. and gala dinner at 7 p.m. The expo and ceremony are free and open to the public.
“It’s a great accomplishment,” Sanchez said. “It’s awesome to know that [the other recipients] have been doing big things too, and to know that I’m with them on that makes me want to keep going and go further in what I’m doing now. I want to keep going and improve.”
The award, which began in 2011, recognizes those who exemplify Idaho’s unique characteristics and achievements in conjunction with the event’s theme. This year’s theme: female empowerment.
“We have a committee of about 10 or 12 people who sit in and look at what the theme is and what message we want to portray,” said JRM Foundation for Humanity Executive Director Beena Rahim, who is also a standing committee member for the award. “This year, the theme happened to be female empowerment, so in addition to what our normal Hero criteria is, we were looking for specific people who exemplify female empowerment. Maria was a great example of that.”
Sanchez most recently made waves following her appearance with the Mexican national team at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, but her influential reach extends far beyond the soccer field. The American Falls, Idaho native has helped with several soccer camps in and around her hometown in addition to speaking to young girls on local area high school soccer teams.
“It’s all she talks about,” said ISU Head Coach Allison Gibson. “In the year-and-a-half that she’s been here, every interview I think I hear her talk about giving back to her community, giving back to the people of American Falls. It’s so on par with who she is.
We’re so proud of her, and it’s nice to see a kid like that be recognized on that level. She’s done so much for herself and her career, and she’s a kid that deserves the recognition. I’m just so happy that she’s getting [recognition] on the world stage, on the community stage and the university stage. We’re really proud of her.”
Several individuals nominated Sanchez for the award including a member of Idaho’s Hometown Hero committee who was aware of her story. Sanchez’s influence on the Latin American community in addition to her athletic successes helped graduate her from a nominee to a recipient.
“When I spoke to someone from American Falls, they said, ‘She’s a really cool girl. She’s so nice.'” Rahim said. “Just the fact that she’s a girl that people can reach out to and relate to at the same time, and yet she’s at this position of playing on a national team…She’s relatable, she’s approachable and she’s very nice and kind. She has a lot ahead of her too. She has a lot of potential to succeed in her life as well.”
Sanchez, true to her nature, is quick to give credit to her peers and community for her motivation and success.
“With all of my friends motivating me each day, every time I want to play soccer, they are there for me,” Sanchez said. “They also want to play. It used to be just me by myself, but once they started seeing that I started to become successful, they started to want to play every day. They have big dreams now. To know that I’m motivating them and they’re motivating me at the same time is a great accomplishment already.”
Sanchez, along with the rest of the ISU soccer team, will be back at home Sunday, Oct. 11 as they host Sacramento State at 12 p.m. at Davis Field.