COLLEGE PARK, MD -- Maddie Komoroski of the Maryland gymnastics and Joey Schneck of Maryland wrestling were named the school's 2025-26 Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award winners as announced by the conference on Wednesday. 

Komoroski embodies the spirit of Jackie's Nine through her courage, integrity, and unwavering commitment to excellence both on and off the competition floor. As a senior Mechanical Engineering major in one of the nation's top-ranked programs, Maddie balances an intense academic schedule with leadership, athletic excellence, and meaningful community service.

A true leader within the Maryland Gymnastics program, Maddie serves as the anchor on balance beam, a role demanding both composure and courage, and is recognized as the team's standard of positivity, passion, and hard work. Her persistence was especially evident following shoulder surgery, where her determination and resilience allowed her to return to full competition form without missing a season.

Beyond athletics, Maddie's impact radiates across campus and the community. She actively represents student-athletes through SAAC, contributes to Maryland Made initiatives such as Kubasik First Impact and Gossett Fellows, and leads by example through service. Her volunteer efforts include supporting Terpsgiving, Adopt-a-Family, and reading to children at local hospitals. Maddie also championed the gymnastics program's annual LGBTQ+ Pride meet, advocating for inclusivity and justice for underrepresented communities.

Her achievements culminate in excellence—earning the title of NCAA Regional Balance Beam Champion (9.95) while maintaining academic distinction and a steadfast dedication to giving back. Maddie's humility, leadership, and courage exemplify the enduring legacy of Jackie Robinson, making her a truly deserving recipient of the Jackie Robinson Campus Impact Award.

Schneck's dedication to service and leadership exemplifies the spirit of Jackie's Nine, demonstrating integrity, courage, teamwork, and compassion through meaningful community engagement. His impact is most evident through his leadership with the Project Life Movement, where he has helped recruit over 300 students to the national stem cell and bone marrow registry, resulting in a confirmed donor match with the potential to save a life. Joey's ability to mobilize
peers, train volunteers, and collaborate across campus illustrates his commitment to making service sustainable and impactful.

Beyond PLM, Joey serves the College Park Pregnancy Aid Center, where he provides critical behind-the-scenes support to help deliver affordable OB/GYN care to low-income women, breaking gender norms through humility, hard work, and empathy. Additionally, his mentorship at the Run Your City: College Park youth running camp reflects his passion for developing confidence, perseverance, and joy in children through sports and positive guidance.

Through these efforts, Joey has embodied Jackie Robinson's legacy—leading with heart, advocating for others, and creating inclusive, life-changing opportunities across the campus and local community. His consistent commitment to serving others with purpose and humility makes him a deserving recipient of the Jackie Robinson Campus Impact Award.

Both will be in contention for the overall Big Ten Conference award winner. Last year, Maryland football player Dillan Fontus was the inaugural male winner from the conference. 

In honor of Jackie Robinson's core values of courage, determination, teamwork, persistence, integrity, citizenship, justice, commitment, and excellence, the Big Ten Conference today announced the inaugural Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award to recognize the conference's student-athletes who have made an exceptional impact in their local community. Before breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier, Jackie Robinson was a standout student-athlete at UCLA, where he was the school's first four-sport letter winner, excelling in football, basketball, track and field, and baseball.

Student-athletes will be nominated based on the following criteria:

• Demonstrated Impact: Significant and tangible contributions to community projects or causes, including measurable outcomes or positive changes resulting from their involvement.
• Collaboration and Teamwork: Ability to work effectively with others, including peers, organizations, and community members, to achieve common goals and enhance community impact.
• Consistency and Commitment: Ongoing and consistent participation in community service activities over an extended period of time.
• Visibility and Advocacy: Efforts to raise awareness and advocate for important groups or causes, leveraging their platform to promote positive change and engage others.

"The Big Ten Jackie Robinson Community & Impact Award celebrates Jackie's legacy of excellence in community service," said Sonya Pankey Robinson, Jackie's first grandchild, Director and board member of the Jackie Robinson Foundation. "We are proud to recognize 36 outstanding men and women for the incredible impact they make in their community."

Each Big Ten member-institution can nominate two student-athletes, one male and one female, from their respective schools. The Big Ten Conference will select two Jackie Robinson Community & Impact award winners, from the 36 nominations, who will be announced by the Big Ten Conference this spring. All remaining nominees will be recognized with individual awards for their contributions to their local communities. 

The Big Ten Conference's commitment to athletics, academics and service goes back to the conference's founding. Coupling the academic goals set forth by leaders of the charter members of the conference with their steadfast commitment to athletics, the conference instituted the Big Ten Medal of Honor in 1915, the first award to demonstrate support for the educational emphasis placed on intercollegiate athletics. It is awarded annually by each member institution to one male and one female student of the graduating class who has attained the greatest proficiency in scholarship and athletics.

In June of 2020 the conference launched the Big Ten Equality Coalition. This group, which features student-athletes, coaches, athletic directors, chancellors, presidents and other members, has a stated goal of seeking tangible ways to actively and constructively combat racism and hate around the world, while also empowering student-athletes to express their rights to free speech and peaceful protest. An important initiative resulting from conversations initiated by the coalition was the Big Ten Voter Registration Initiative.

In recent years, several delegations of conference student-athletes and administrators have traveled to Selma and Montgomery, Alabama, for an immersive civil rights educational experience entitled: "Big Life Series: Selma to Montgomery." The visit to one of the key centers of the civil rights movement was highlighted by marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma to learn more about the profound impact that young people had on the civil rights movement.

Additionally, the Big Ten Conference is dedicated to making a lasting impact on the communities where its major events are held hosting sports clinics, renovating recreation centers, and giving elementary-aged children a behind-the-scenes experience with major Big Ten events. In all cases the conference focuses on creating meaningful improvements aimed at leaving each location better than it was found. Most recently, the Big Ten collaborated with the College Football Playoff Foundation, local sports organizations and local school districts to enhance spaces for teachers and children while providing additional educational and athletic opportunities for children.

As Jackie Robison famously said, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."