SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - Two California college student-athletes, Madie Fahey, a senior soccer player at Cal Lutheran University, and Will Bermudez, a senior baseball player at UC Irvine, were selected as the January 2025 recipients of the CalHOPE Courage Award.

Presented monthly since February 2022, the CalHOPE Courage Award honors student-athletes at California colleges and universities who have overcome the stress, anxiety and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. In addition to the recognition, a donation will be made on behalf of all honorees to support on-campus mental health services.

Fahey, a senior at California Lutheran University, embodies the spirit of resilience and selflessness. Born in Carmichael, she excelled academically, earning Dean’s List honors and being named a scholar-athlete in each of her collegiate years with a 3.7 GPA. Yet, Fahey’s journey as a student-athlete has been defined by her courage in overcoming adversity.

In 2020, Fahey was diagnosed with Popliteal Artery Entrapment Syndrome, a rare condition causing cramping, tingling and numbness in her legs from the knee down. The condition worsens during physical activity, dramatically impacting her ability to play collegiate soccer. The road to diagnosis was long, involving numerous consultations until specialists at UC Davis Medical Center identified the condition. Despite the pain and physical limitations, Fahey demonstrated incredible determination, playing a career-high 19 games in 2023 and all 90 minutes at fullback in the National Championship game victory against Washington University.

This season, however, Fahey had to prematurely end her playing career, due to complications from her condition. Despite playing just half the season, Fahey earned the prestigious Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Award of Distinction for exceptional academic and athletic achievements. Accepting this was a mental and emotional challenge; Fahey credits Cal Lutheran University’s free mental-health counseling services and her therapist for helping her navigate this transition. With the unwavering support of her coaches, teammates and athletic trainers, Fahey has remained a vital part of the team.

Off the field, Fahey has made a profound impact on her community by organizing annual soccer camps for dozens of youth with special needs. Her dedication to these young athletes and her leadership in fostering inclusion reflect Fahey’s compassionate spirit.

“I made it my goal to prove to myself and my team that I wouldn’t quit and that I would push myself until I physically couldn’t feel my legs anymore. Along the way, I learned that it’s OK to ask for help,” Fahey said. “No one is ever truly alone and leaning on your support system or seeking counseling isn’t a sign of weakness. Instead, it’s a courageous step toward healing, resilience and rediscovering your strength. The scars I carry are not marks of defeat but are badges of honor and proof that I faced adversity head-on and became stronger than ever before.”

The monthly CalHOPE Courage Award is presented by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press; CalHOPE, a Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) crisis counseling and support resource; and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being.

“CalHOPE is honored to continue recognizing student-athletes statewide who have overcome challenges to perform their best as both scholars and athletes,” said Autumn Boylan, deputy director of the Office of Strategic Partnerships at Department of Health Care Services, which oversees CalHOPE.“CalHOPE’s purpose is to build community resilience and help people recover from disasters and public health emergencies through free outreach, crisis counseling and support services. We hope that by sharing these stories of courage, all will be inspired.”

Previous honorees this year have included Ally Ratto (water polo, Delta College); Dublin Synnott (soccer, Saddleback College), Aaliyah Gayles (basketball, University of Southern California); Jailen Daniel-Dalton (basketball, San Francisco State; Mya Wang (lacrosse, University of California, Berkeley); and Justin Watterson, (track, Long Beach State).

At the end of the school year, two of the student-athletes will be selected as the CalHOPE Courage Award winners.

Stories about all CalHOPE Courage Award honorees since 2022 are available at CalHOPECourageAward.org and via social media (X & Instagram) at @CalHOPE_Courage.

Sports information directors at all colleges and universities in California are encouraged to nominate deserving intercollegiate student-athletes at CalHOPECourageAward.org. The honorees are selected by a panel of writers, editors, The Associated Press and the College Sports Communicators.