Juniors Chris Gallagher and Melanie Holder represented the Massachusetts Maritime Student-Athlete Advisory Committee on Sunday afternoon at the 2013 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference SAAC Special Olympics clinic at Salem State University’s O’Keefe Athletic Center.

Gallagher, a native of Sandwich, Mass., and Holder, a native of Calidonio, Panama, joined over 50 fellow student-athletes representing all eight MASCAC schools in the event, which also kicked off the second annual NCAA Division III Week celebration.  Gallagher and Holder, who serve as President and Secretary of Massachusetts Maritime’s SAAC, participated in field activities involving basketball, floor hockey and soccer and interacted with nearly 30 Special Olympians from the North Shore.

“I think the smiles on Chris and Melanie’s faces were broader and brighter than the Special Olympians they had the chance to meet and spend the day with,” Buccaneer SAAC Advisor Jim Seavey said of the event.  “They represented the Academy with tremendous pride at the event and have truly embodied what the term ‘student-athlete’ means in all of their SAAC and community work during the academic year.”

Gallagher, who also serves as Vice President of the MASCAC SAAC, has led a spirited effort throughout the year with the Massachusetts Maritime SAAC.  To date, Buccaneer student-athletes have conducted a highly successful food drive during Thanksgiving for the Bourne Food Pantry and followed that up by helping to raise donations of over 250 toys at Christmas for Children’s Cove.  The Academy SAAC also assisted in last week’s celebration of National Student-Athlete Day and has several activities planned for the remainder of the spring, including sending care packages to servicemen and women overseas as well as volunteering with the Cape Cod Special Olympics field day in May.  Additionally, the SAAC will help conduct the annual Peter Ryan Triathlon on Tuesday, May 28^th before hosting its annual year-end Celebration Picnic for Student-Athletes on Thursday, May 30^th.

Gallagher (baseball) and Holder (volleyball & crew) are joined in the officer’s rotation by Second Vice President Asa Mills (Westport, Mass.) and Treasurer Rachel Johnson (South Chatham, Mass.), who are members of the men’s soccer and softball squads, respectively.