WILMINGTON, North Carolina – It's been 14 years since the horrific shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., changed the lives of so many. Ingrid Janney thinks about the events of that perilous day often.

A sophomore on the UNCW women's swimming and diving team, Janney was six years old at the time and attending Huckleberry Hill Elementary School, just a short drive from nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School.

 "My school went into lockdown when it happened," Janney recalled. "My elementary school was the closest one to Sandy Hook. I grew up with some of the kids involved in the Sandy Hook shooting. It was very personal to me because I was so close to it."

Janney has channeled those sad memories into a desire to help the Sandy Hook community continue to heal from the 2012 tragedy. This week, she will be honored with 19  other college student-athletes – 10 men and 10 women - across the nation on the Allstate NACDA Good Works Winter Sports Team in recognition for their dedication to leadership, service and community impact.

The team features men and women from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, junior/community college and the NAIA – representing 15 collegiate sports, including basketball, bowling, indoor track and field, swimming and diving and wrestling. 

Janney, 19, enrolled at UNCW last season and appeared in five regular season meets before scoring at the Coastal Athletic Association Championships with a sixth-place finish in the 200 Backstroke. She helped the Seahawks claim their sixth conference title in women's swimming and diving.

But she is just as dedicated to remembering the 26 victims of the shooting that took place on Dec. 14, 2012, including 20 innocent children. It was the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in U.S. history.

An Elementary Education major, Janney has spent the last four years honoring the lives lost at Sandy Hook by volunteering with the Race4Chase Kids Triathlon Program. Race4Chase is a non-profit organization created in honor of Chase Kowalski, a Sandy Hook student who was tragically killed that early December morning. The engaging young boy had a passion for triathlons at an early age, so his parents created the Race4Chase Kids Triathlon Program in his honor, teaching kids how to swim, bike, and run through local YMCAs. 

"Chase loved to do triathlons," Janney said. "His parents started a non-profit foundation and my siblings and I have heavily been involved in the five-week program. It's such a rewarding program and I love working with the kids. It's cool to see your impact on children and knowing that that you're helping them to grow and learn."

Each summer, Janney assists with the free triathlon camp, teaching local kids how to swim, bike, and run – all to celebrate the life of Kowalski and to inspire community healing through family-focused triathlon events and wellness initiatives. 

In addition, she contributed time at Harry's Game, a UNCW men's soccer game that promotes inclusion and acceptance for special needs children, and joined her swimming teammates to provide instruction at the recent National Girls & Women In Sports Day clinic. 

"I was very excited when I learned that I won this award," said Janney, who has been involved in a variety of community service projects with the Seahawks. "I was not expecting it at all. I really enjoy working with kids and helping kids. Every opportunity that I get to help kids, teach kids or just hang out with them, I usually take it."

A superior student in the classroom, where she has compiled a 3.956 grade point average, Janney says performing community service around a busy schedule "is definitely hard, but it makes you feel good to do something. 

"Community service is a good way to change my routine. Being able to do something to give back is a good way to be productive and be able to have fun for a good cause.

"Growing up, I felt like I benefitted from a lot from community service. I was able to participate because of so many organizations. It helped me so much as a child. Volunteering just feels like fun to me."

Like many UNCW students, Janney, who has racked up multiple Dean's List and CAA Commissioner's Honor Roll honors, visited the area with her parents and grandparents and when it came time to make a college decision, returning to the South College Road campus was in the cards.

Janney said, "I was looking for somewhere that I could balance academics and swimming well. It's been really great here. I can focus on classes and my major and learning the things that I want to learn. I've been pleased with the workload and structure of my classes in the Watson School of Education."

"We are incredibly proud of Ingrid and this prestigious honor," said Michael Oblinger, UNCW's third-year athletic director. "This a well-deserved accomplishment and reflects her excellence in competition, the classroom and in her community. Ingrid has made a lasting impact through her service, and we are grateful she's part of our Seahawk family." 

Janney's passion for water safety extends beyond the program as she teaches swim lessons during the summer at Waterbury Country Club and now coaches young swimmers through the Wilmington Swim Academy. During the academic year, Ingrid spends 12-15 hours a week teaching local children between the ages of 3-10 years old how to swim.

"Ingrid's commitment to service in her hometown and Wilmington community through the sport of swimming is inspiring," said Jaime Mangold, UNCW's Student-Athlete Development Program Director. "I have no doubts that she will also have an incredible impact as a future educator to help shape the lives of the next generation of students and athletes. Ingrid has been a fantastic representation of a UNCW student-athlete and is extremely deserving of this award."

Janney's dedication to working with children has inspired her to pursue a career in elementary education, using swimming as a tool for healing and empowerment. "Teaching swim classes is what I love to do. I'm always swimming and always in the pool."

Janney hails from a family of competitive athletes. Her mother, Susie Johnson, swam at Lehigh, while her father, Darryl Janney, rowed on the crew team at Boston University. 

"Ingrid is not just an athlete," said UNCW Head Coach Bobby Guntoro. "She's a 360-degree student-athlete…I can close my eyes and I know she's going to do the right thing. She gets it done athletically, in the classroom and in the community. She's a perfect example for everyone."

About the Allstate NACDA Good Works Team: The Allstate NACDA Good Works Team was established in 2024 to recognize male and female student-athletes across all collegiate sports and divisions for their leadership in community service, academics and athletics. Building on the legacy of the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, which has honored college football players since 1992, this expanded initiative highlights the impact of student-athletes who go beyond the game to serve others.
 
About NACDA: Now in its 61st year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 24,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,300 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 19 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts and/or has a presence at seven major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. 

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