The award will be made to the athlete during the university's annual awards banquet next Sunday at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.

"We are excited that the athlete has agreed to attend the awards banquet, but we want this to be a surprise, so we are not disclosing the person's identity," said Marcia Shields, vice-president for Administration, Facilities Planning and Operations at UCC.

The awards banquet is the university's annual event to raise funds for needy charitable projects. This year, net proceeds will go to The Good Samaritan Inn and the Rotary Club of St Andrew's Wheelchair Project.

Motivational speaker Dr Bongelo Gombele will deliver the keynote address at the awards banquet. Gombele, one of a family of 10 children, has the compelling life story of travelling halfway around the world from his homeland, the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, to fulfil his life's dream of becoming a medical doctor.

Other awardees

Several students from UCC's 2009 graduating class of more than 1,000 will also be awarded for outstanding academic performance. In addition, faculty and administrative staff will be recognised for their contribution to the university. The graduation ceremony commences at 2 p.m. and is followed by the awards banquet at 5:30 p.m.

Tickets for the awards banquet are available at UCC cafeteria and UCC Book & Gift Centre at the university's main campus on Worthington Avenue in New Kingston.