Some college football players are recognized for how they play; others, like Carson Ivester of Mt. Airy, are recognized for how they live.
Ivester recently received Reinhardt University’s No Greater Love Award. School administrators presented him with the award during a recent ceremony on the college’s Waleska campus.
The rising college senior was recognized for his willingness to help others and to always be the first to lend a helping hand. “He was described as the definition of a servant leader: he leads with positivity and compassion and has a true understanding of empathy,” a press release from the college states.
“I feel that receiving this award was God telling me that I am doing a good job at spreading His love, and there’s nothing I strive more to do in this life.”
“I was extremely honored that I was chosen, even if it did catch me by surprise. It came at such a great time in my life because I had been going through some personal issues that were beginning to weigh me down,” Ivester says. “I feel that receiving this award was God telling me that I am doing a good job at spreading His love, and there’s nothing I strive more to do in this life.”
In his journey toward becoming an educator with the Price School of Education, dean Dr. Nancy Marsh observed Ivester’s empathetic quality with fellow classmates. “Carson takes the time to listen to others when they feel challenged or just need to be heard. He will exhaust all his resources to find an answer or make someone smile,” she says.
Outside of the classroom, the Mt. Airy resident stays busy as a leader around campus, serving as an orientation leader, resident assistant, Reinhardt captain and as a member of both the football and track teams.
Ivester is an offensive lineman for the Reinhardt University Eagles. He previously played football for Habersham Central High School. He graduated from Central in 2016.
Director of Admissions Lacey Satterfield says Ivester’s personality makes him an ideal ambassador for the school, a role the college refers to as a ‘Reinhardt captain’.
“Carson’s enthusiasm for Reinhardt and his kind and welcoming personality make him an excellent captain. He’s confident and friendly, he listens with compassion and understanding,” says Satterfield. “I’m so proud to have prospective students and parents meet him and know that his is the kind of student we have at Reinhardt.”
Each year the university presents the No Greater Love Award to one student who expresses a spirit of caring through “extraordinary and exemplary community service and love of fellow humans.” The award was established in 1998 in memory of Ernest “Chip” Koella IV, grandson of longtime Reinhardt University supporters, the late Steve and Virginia Tumlin. Koella died on August 1, 1996, while attempting to save a kayaker on the Little River in Rockford, Tennessee. It was named after the Bible verse John 15:13 which says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
