NICK CORTESE OF MILLSAPS COLLEGE, a sophomore guard on the men's basketball team from Lafayette, La., has been selected the SCAC Character & Community Male Student-Athlete-of-the-Week for the week ending January 2, 2011.

As a freshman, Cortese was involved with the Wellspring Program, which requires members to do an hour of community service each week. Among his service activities with the program, Cortese would go to a local church to tutor and also helped coach the church league basketball team. The group would also do a service trip each month.

The sophomore has also been named a Dean’s Scholar the past two semesters and was ‘tapped’ into the Phi Eta Sigma honors society, which recognizes outstanding academic achievement among freshmen.

For the past two years, Cortese has worked in the Admissions office. After serving as a student worker as a freshman, he has been designated a Millsaps Ambassador for Prospective Students (or MAPS) this year. As an ambassador, Cortese works all campus visit programs and attends one off campus visit program. He works closely with one of the counselors to correspond with prospective students as well as other tasks as needed in the office. 

Cortese is also a member of the Campus Ministry Team. The goals of this organization are many but mainly it works to bring the campus together and tries to meet the physical, social, and spiritual needs of the students. He also teaches confirmation classes at St. Richard’s, a local Catholic church.