[5/20/03]Success and accomplishments seem to come naturally to Melanie Mendrop. So it’s no surprise that she recently won two prestigious awards at Hinds Community College.

The sophomore soccer player received the Eagle Award for the most outstanding female athlete at Hinds.

Mendrop was selected as a 2003 NJCAA second-team All-American and has led her team to two state and region championships in her two seasons as a starting defender.

Mendrop also was awarded the NJCAA Lea Plarski Award a national accolade for excellence in academics, athletics and community service.

Each year the NJCAA and the Citizenship Through Sports Alliance select one male or female to be the recipient of the award.

With the achievement, Mendrop also receives a trip to Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., in June where she will accept the award and represent the NJCAA. Two of the notable award recipients at last year’s banquet were the NFL’s Jerome Bettis and baseball’s Curt Schilling.

Hinds soccer coach Patti Johnson had nothing but praise for her star player.

“Melanie is a very dedicated and mature young lady, always giving 110 percent to anything she undertakes,” Johnson said. “She is willing to do anything asked of her, and she goes beyond her duties.”

Mendrop has maintained a 3.35 grade point average in her two years at Hinds and graduated this year.

She also participated in Hinds Connection a recruitment group that required a lot of time and effort.

“That’s where I do a lot of stuff,” Mendrop said. “A lot of the volunteering that I do kind of comes through that. We go to the high schools and recruit prospective students. We give tours on campus. We work at a lot of the major functions and award banquets.”

Mendrop gave some of her time to Medical/Dental Ministry, Adopt-A-Highway and Angel Tree. She also was a member of Mu Alpha Theta, Alpha Beta Gamma and Circle K.

Jay Allen, the dean of Enrollment Services at Hinds, said Mendrop was an exceptional help to Hinds Connection.

“Melanie goes above and beyond the call of duty to educate prospective students about the educational opportunities that await them in college, as well as providing a gracious atmosphere for alumni who are returning to the college for events,” he said.

Through it all, Mendrop somehow found a way to juggle school, work, athletics and extracurriculars.

“I’ve always been real busy,” she said. “I’ve always played lots of different sports. I do better if I stay busy my grades are better. I’ve always been like that, so I guess it just comes naturally.”

Following her graduation from Hinds, Mendrop has been accepted into the dental hygiene program at University Medical Center in Jackson and plans to attend the school in the fall.

The only downside is that she will probably have to leave her days of playing soccer behind after investing more than 10 years in the sport.

“I will miss it for sure,” she said. “But looking at the big picture, it’s better for me to go on and finish out my next years of school.”