CUT BANK – There are student-athletes. And then there is Cut Bank’s Abbi Fitzpatrick.
Tuesday morning, the senior all-state cross country star was presented with a $20,000 scholarship as part of the Foot Locker Scholar Athletes program. Nearly 40,000 students apply for the scholarship every year, and only 20 are selected nationwide.
The Foot Locker Scholar Athletes program honors student-athletes who demonstrate exceptional academic ability and strong leadership skills in sports, in their schools, and within their communities.
Fitzpatrick certainly fits the bill. In addition to being captain of the Cut Bank cross country team and maintaining a 3.7 GPA while taking all AP and upper level classes, Fitzpatrick has undertaken some truly awe-inspiring steps to make her community better.
Fitzpatrick has raised more than $6,500 from grants, business donations, and GoFundMe donations from friends, family, and community members. The funds allowed Glacier County Healthy Food Project (a project she started last year as a Junior) to reach more than 640 families.
This year the project was able distribute more than 330 boxes of food to Heart Butte Schools, Cut Bank Headstart, Seville Headstart and Browning Headstart.
In addition to the honor from FootLocker, Fitzpatrick was awarded the Center for Native American Youth-Brown Summer Program Scholarship and was one of 20 students nationwide given the Yale Bassett Award for Community Engagement.
Fitzpatrick has been admitted to Pomona, Amherst, Dartmouth, and Brown. She is still deciding where she will attend college.
