James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award nominee: Nathan Chiarlitti, StFX men's hockey

Position: Defence
Height: 5'11"
Hometown: Maple, Ont.
Year of eligibility: Third
Academic program: BSc HK

Nathan Chiarlitti of the StFX X-Men hockey team has been chosen as the StFX athletics nominee for the 2016 James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award.

A fourth-year human kinetics student in his third year of eligibility from Maple, Ont., Chiarlitti scored three goals, had 12 assists and finished with a plus-minus rating of +14 this regular season. The X-Men recorded their best regular season performance since the 2003-04 season, finishing second in the AUS standings and earning a first round playoff bye.

Chiarlitti was named a second team AUS all-star for the second time. He first earned the honour last season. He also received the AUS Godfrey award for student-athlete community service and went on to win the Dr. Randy Gregg Award at the CIS level.

In the postseason, Chiarlitti posted seven points (three goals and four assists) in six games played. The StFX squad captured their first AUS men's hockey title since 2004 and Chiarlitti was named most valuable player of the championship.

In the CIS University Cup national championship, he posted another three points en route to StFX's silver medal finish.

Academically, he is a three-time academic all-Canadian. He recently completed the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and hopes to attend medical school in the future.

Chiarlitti is heavily involved in the community, volunteering his time with an array of organizations and causes.

He was awarded the Leader of Distinction award by the StFX Leadership Academy, which he has been involved with for the past three years. He is a volunteer coach for the Antigonish Minor Hockey Mentorship Program, a volunteer tutor with the Hockey Program of X-Cellence and president of the Coady Society.

Chiarlitti volunteers with Fit 4 Life and Fit 4 Tots, a StFX human kinetics community service program which promotes healthy lifestyles to children. He is a participant in StFX's Best Buddies program, which helps people with intellectual disabilities gain valuable life experiences, leadership skills and establish new friendships.

He has also done extensive volunteer work in medical research including thyroid oncology research at the Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, work with Caisis, the online cancer data management system, as well as data collection for CAPL (Canadian Assessment of Physical Literacy).

"Nathan is an exceptional young man, an assistant captain on our men's hockey team, an outstanding student, a gifted leader and someone who generously gives back to his community," said StFX athletic director Leo MacPherson. "He is, beyond a doubt, one of the most exceptional student-athlete leaders I've ever been around and he has unlimited potential in his career."