Former Boston College Basketball Star Joins the Advisory Board of the Young Women Leaders of Tomorrow Program

April 10, 2007

High School and College All-American Sarah Behn Brings Years of Basketball Experience to Direct Federal’s Scholarship Program

Needham, MA –Sarah Behn, Boston College Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer, and current head coach of the Foxboro High School women’s basketball team, is joining the advisory board of the Young Women Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship program. The program was created by Direct Federal Credit Union with the goal of recognizing today’s female athletes and tomorrow’s leaders.  The program focuses on high school female athletes that participate in field hockey, ice hockey, basketball, or softball in either the Bay State Conference or the Tri-Valley League of Massachusetts.  The high school coaches, principals and athletic directors will help evaluate and choose the recipients that best exemplify leadership, sportsmanship, athleticism and academic excellence on their specific team.  Sixty-six $1,000 scholarships are then awarded to the chosen athletes. Behn joins other successful athletes - including basketball’s Rebecca Lobo and Medina Dixon; ice hockey’s Cammi Granato; field hockey’s Megan Donnelly and Dina Rizzo; and baseball/softball’s Mary Pratt and Danielle Henderson - in supporting this program.

“I am so happy to be a part of a program that gives young women the recognition they deserve for the hard work that they put in day in and day out,” said Behn, who recently hosted a free basketball clinic as part of her commitment to the program.

During Behn’s college years at Boston College, she became the all-time women’s leading scorer in Big East history with 2,523 career points. She was also inducted into Boston College’s Hall of Fame. Before she became a star at Boston College, she played at Foxboro High School where she became the second leading scorer in Massachusetts history with 2,562 points. After playing in college, she went to Europe to play professionally for B.B.C.  Etzella, in Ettlebruck, Luxembourg. There she averaged 35 points per game and was the leading point scorer in Central Europe. Her professional coaching career began at North Attleboro High School where she was awarded the Division II Coach of the Year by the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches’ Association and The Boston Globe. Sarah then moved onto Framingham State College where she was the head coach for women’s varsity basketball and soccer. She is now the head coach of the girls varsity basketball team at Foxboro High School, her alma mater.

“Sarah has been so successful not just as a player, but also as a coach and mentor,” says Jean Geiwitz, Direct Federal’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Operations. “We believe Sarah is a wonderful role model because she has so worked hard to get where she is and now, she is giving back.”

In addition to awarding scholarships, the program has also purchased new uniforms for several high school teams and the program will be hosting an awards dinner on May 24th, at which time the winners will be awarded their scholarships.