| Heart of the Lion |
2009 Heart of the Lion Award given to Penn State standout athlete
Deb Andress, instructor of kinesiology, received the prestigious Heart of the Lion award on May 8. The heartfelt event was held on campus in Lares cafeteria where over 100 friends, family, and colleagues gathered to celebrate Deb’s athletic success and contributions to the Penn State Community. Tim Curly, athletic director, Penn State, was the keynote speaker.
The Heart of the Lion award is given annually to an individual who has had a profound impact on the athletics program as well as an interest in growing the athletics program at Penn State Abington.
Andress, '80 HHD, fit that description to a tee. She’s been Penn State proud for over a quarter of a century. She’s been a favorite kinesiology instructor at Abington for the past 23 years as well as a former head coach for Abington’s women’s field hockey team, and a current coach of the newly formed women’s lacrosse team. A graduate of Penn State, Andress played both field hockey and lacrosse for the Nittany Lions and was a member of teams that won two AIAW National Championships during her tenure.
Her athleticism has taken her beyond the hallowed halls of Penn State and into the national spotlight as a member of the United States Lacrosse Team in the 1980s. She was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Andress stays involved with sports today—beyond Penn State Abington—as a board member of the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association, and coach and mentor of youth lacrosse in Doylestown.
