In May, Endicott senior defensive tackle Craig Anderson became the fifth recipient of the Jack Daly Award for Academics, Citizenship and Football. The award was presented to Anderson by the Eastern Mass. Chapter of the National Football Foundation to honor his outstanding play on the gridiron, in the classroom, and in the community.

It was the last part that really struck home for Anderson, a Franklin High alum.

Speaking the day before Endicott opened its 2016 season against Framingham State, he explained, “I always, when I can, try to give back to the community because there’s always people less fortunate than you. When the coaches talk about different community service opportunities, I try to get involved in as many as I can.”

Anderson began volunteering and developed his passion for community service in the peer leadership group at Franklin High. The students raised money every holiday season to buy gifts for young people in need in the community. The peer leaders would deliver the gifts and saw the joy that it created to do something good for someone else.

While in college, Anderson has continued to take part as often as he can, mostly through the football team. Every spring, the Gulls get together to do spring cleaning for the elderly or disabled in the Beverly community. The team has also volunteered at the Beverly YMCA’s winter fun run and raised money for the Beverly Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society.

As a two-time captain and now a senior on the team, Anderson believes that it is important for him to set the tone for younger players and to encourage them to take part in these service projects.

He tells new players to “take advantage of every minute of their college experience not just on the field but off the field as well. They’re going to learn as much if not more from being involved in the community than they are on the field. That’s truly what has impacted me the most.”

Anderson also hopes that the football team will be role models, as a group, for other Endicott students.

“We’re the biggest team on campus, so I’d say that we have one of the biggest impacts,” he said. “If people see us helping out, giving a helping hand to others, I think other people are going to be encouraged to do the same.”

When he arrived on campus four years ago, Anderson had no idea that this is the type of impact that he would make. He was a freshman lineman coming to a strong program with a recent history of success and was joined by more than 10 other linemen looking for the same spot. He said, “Honestly, my goal coming into the camp was just to make the traveling squad.”

He worked hard and got noticed by the coaches. Not only did he end up traveling with the team, but he played 11 games, recorded 66 tackles and helped the Gulls win an NEFC championship. He added another 66 tackles in nine games as a sophomore and last year had a career-high nine sacks and was named to the NEFC All-Conference first team.

“Football is the ultimate team sport,” Anderson said. “Just because I may have some good stats doesn’t mean that I’m playing any better than anyone else on the field. If I get a few more tackles than another guy or I get to the quarterback, it’s all a team thing.”

His leadership and his play on the field earned him the respect of his teammates, who voted him a captain in his junior and senior seasons. Anderson reflected, “To just know that my teammates felt that I was such a leader even as an underclassman is something that really humbled me and put into perspective how people looked at me as a leader.

“I really love what that says about how my teammates feel about me.”

This summer, as he was preparing for his senior season, Anderson also took time out to train with Vince Skelton, a young man from Ipswich who suffers from cerebral palsy and who has been connected to the Endicott football team since 2013. Vince was brought to the program’s attention by Team Impact, which connects young people who cannot play sports with local college teams to give them the college athletics experience.

“Vince can’t play football but he’s really been welcomed as a part of our team,” said Anderson. “He has every reason in the world to be down and not be the happy-go-lucky kid that he is, but he never lets his disability get in the way and he pushed himself to every limit and it’s made me reflect on my life and how lucky I am to be in the position I am.”

Anderson and a couple of his teammates trained for a climb of Mt. Washington sponsored by New England Disabled Sports. The event had to be canceled because of strong winds on the mountain, but Anderson said that he and Vince made a less arduous climb on another day.

Vince graduated from Ipswich High this past spring and is enrolled at Merrimack College to study engineering. “I’m sure he’ll still be there supporting the Gulls,” said Anderson with a chuckle. “Luckily, we don’t play Merrimack so there won’t be any conflict.”

When he asked why he enjoys taking part in community service, Anderson paused. In the background, people were walking by his spot on the Beverly campus. Endicott was not yet back in session, so it was mostly athletes that were passing through on their way to and from preseason practice.

After a minute, Anderson said, “As a participant, as a volunteer, you’re almost getting more out of it yourself than the people that you’re helping…It’s really a humbling experience helping these people and you see how much the little things that you might be doing mean to somebody.”