COLCHESTER, Vt. - Saint Michael's College softball senior Kiera Parker (Weymouth, Mass./Framingham/Stevenson) has been named one of five national Team IMPACT Teammate of the Year finalists thanks to a nomination from Katie Guy, the softball program's Team IMPACT teammate.
 
Voting for the winner will be decided by unlimited fan voting through midnight on April 25 here. The winner and their nominating child will be honored at Team IMPACT's 13th annual Game Day Gala on May 31 in Boston.
 
Parker, a second-year Team IMPACT fellow, has played an integral role in planning events for all four of the College's Team IMPACT teammates while serving as a key link in building a relationship between the softball program and young Katie, who joined the team last spring.
 
Team IMPACT is a national non-profit organization that improves the quality of life for children facing chronic or life-threatening illness through the power of team. Team IMPACT has developed a unique multiyear program that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college athletic teams across the country. Based on a clinical model, Team IMPACT guides a symbiotic relationship between teams and children focused on socialization, empowerment and resilience.
 
Originally one of nearly three dozen student-athletes nominated for Team IMPACT Teammate of the Year, Parker joins Baldwin Wallace University men's basketball sophomore Caden Hudak, Houston Christian University junior Ahjany Lee, University of North Carolina men's lacrosse sophomore Owen Duffy, and San Diego State University sophomore cheerleader Priya Sciacero in the finalist stage for the fourth annual national honor.
 
Saint Michael's is a long-time partner of Team IMPACT, joining many Northeast-10 Conference counterparts in its involvement, as the baseball, men's and women's basketball, field hockey, men's ice hockey, men's lacrosse, women's soccer, softball, and men's and women's swimming & diving programs have welcomed Team IMPACT teammates in the past 13 years. For more information about Team IMPACT, visit goteamimpact.org.