Princeton University Athletics
Art Lane '34 Award
September 20, 2001 | General
Jen Cannistra
Jen Cannistra, a recipient of the Art Lane Award, was a four-year member of the cross country and track and field team and served as a captain during the 2000-01 season. In addition to her key role on the team and the academic demands of Princeton, Cannistra got involved with community work and volunteer programs in the area.
As a member of the Student Volunteers Council, she was the co-director and teacher for Kid Power, an environmental program for fifth graders in the Trenton and Princeton area. But her work with Kid Power is just one of the numerous organizations that Cannistra has lent a hand to while at Princeton.
She was a member of the Undergraduate Student Government Projects Board since it began and served as the chair last year. She was an Orange Key tour guide, a member of the Woodrow Wilson School student advisory committee, a Class Day co-chair and interned in the Office of Educational Technology with the U.S. Department of Education. She also spent last summer in San Francisco with the Americorps program teaching inner-city youth. She was also a national finalist for the Truman Scholarship which recognizes service contributions.
Cannistra is putting Harvard Law School on hold for a year after graduation. She is the recipient of the Rotary Ambassador Fellowship giving her the opportunity to study comparative and international education at the master's level for a year at Oxford.
"Jen's career at Princeton provides a blueprint for how to take on a full plate yet still manage to attain the focus that a distance runner needs to carry the race through to completion," says women's track coach Peter Farrell.
Harrison Gabel
In this age where everyone is in such a hurry to get the 4-1-1, it's good to know that there are still some people concerned with the 9-1-1.
Harrison Gabel is one such person.
Gabel, a member of the squash team, has devoted a great deal of his time to helping others. Gabel is a trained and certified emergency medical technician and firefighter.
While at Princeton, the Rochester native worked two academic years with the rescue squad in nearby West Windsor, working one 12-hour shift per week. He also spent four summers at home working as a volunteer firefighter.
Gabel has received more than 1,000 calls as a firefighter and almost 100 calls as an EMT. He has administered CPR on many occasions.
An all-league soccer player in high school, Gabel followed his father (Conger, Class of 1967) and older brother Christopher (Class of 1996) to Princeton. He was the No. 14 player as a freshman, but he moved all the way to No. 7 as a sophomore. He stayed in the 6-7-8 range the remainder of his career.
As a senior he dropped but three points in a match against Franklin & Marshall in a performance believed to the closest to perfection in a squash match in Jadwin Gym history.
The highlight of his career, however, had to be in his junior year, when he delivered a crucial point at No. 8 in Princeton's 5-4 win over Harvard, a victory that gave the Tigers their first outright Ivy championship since 1982 and ended Harvard's 10-year run.
A captain his senior year, Gabel graduated with a degree in molecular biology.
Devon Keefe
Student athletes know the sense of working for a greater cause. Though you are an individual, with your own personal skill and your own unique talent, win or lose, you are part of a team. Devon Keefe, a four-year starter on the softball team, exemplifies this virtue more than most and understands what it means to see the larger picture.
As an athlete, Keefe has found success throughout her career that culminated in first-team All-Ivy honors her senior year. As a catcher, she had the responsibility of controlling the infield and making sure that her team was ready for a number of possible situations. Her leadership, experience and dedication to her teammates both on and off the field are priceless.
It is often hard to fully understand the demanding schedule that student-athletes face, yet Keefe managed to find time to become further involved with the University and the Princeton community. Keefe was a member on the Varsity Student-Athlete Advisory Committee for four years, serving as president her senior year. She was a member of the Princeton Faculty Advisory Committee and served as a Princeton liaison to the Ivy League Varsity Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Keefe also volunteered at the Millhill Child Abuse Center in Trenton. and was a member of the Princeton Trustee Alcohol Initiative Board.
Keefe has touched and influenced the lives of many at Princeton and the neighboring community.
"When I think of Devon," says softball coach Maureen Davies, "the first thing that comes to mind is her bright smile and cheerful nature. She has a big heart and is always ready to lend a hand. She is a true leader both on and off the field, and has given back to Princeton in countless ways."