LSU Track & Field standout distance runner and Arabi native Cullen Doody was recognized by the Southeastern Conference on April 5 as the men’s recipient of the 2011-12 Brad Davis SEC Community Service Leader of the Year award.

Doody was selected for the award by a committee of Faculty Athletics Representatives from the league’s 12 member institutions, and is set to receive a $10,000 postgraduate scholarship provided by the SEC.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive described Doody and the women’s award recipient, Alabama runner Leigh Gilmore, as “outstanding representatives of their families, their institutions, the Southeastern Conference and intercollegiate athletics.”

“The Southeastern Conference is proud to honor the efforts of Cullen and Leigh to make their communities a better place to live,” Slive added.

Doody’s community service goes back to his days in Arabi, where he was born and raised— he caught the volunteering bug in high school.

“In high school I did a two week project trip in Virginia, I also worked on the Operation Merry Christmas, which I really enjoyed,” said Doody.

Doody attributes his successful academic and athletic career to adhering to a schedule, and finding time within that set schedule to give back to his community. Doody was twice named LSU’s Cross Country Runner of the Year during a standout career in 2009 and 2011, while also serving as team captain during his senior season in 2011. He is also a two-time recipient of the Wally Pontiff Jr. Academic Excellence Award at LSU, as well as a Chancellor’s Award winner from 2009-11. He is also a three-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll during his career while maintaining a 3.93 cumulative grade-point average in Biological Sciences.

“My hours with running, school and volunteering are kind of like a job, in that I have to stick to a schedule, but it’s a job that I enjoy doing,” Doody explained. 

His dedication to service is evident through the initiatives he has taken a part of during his years at LSU. For three years, Doody has been a member of LSU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and has played a primary role in the SEC’s “Together We Can” food drive, as well as Habitat for Humanity projects in Baton Rouge. He also volunteers with children at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital and Delmont Elementary School, helped LSU host children and families at “Thanksgiving with the Tigers” and volunteers with the “Geaux Givers” program as a campus leader in community service.

“We have government programs to take care of a lot of stuff, but the people running those organizations can only do so much, so they might not be as enthusiastic about their jobs,” Doody explained about the importance of volunteers, “But volunteers are there because they want to be there.”

 Doody has been accepted to LSU’s medical school and plans to attend this fall. He plans to use his $10,000 scholarship toward tuition.