Friends University men’s basketball player Jacob Simmonds has been selected as one of only 14 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics student athletes nationwide to participate in the 2012-13 Red Cross/NAIA Collegiate Leadership Program.

Simmonds, a sophomore from Peabody, is majoring in health science, has made the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll all three semesters at Friends, and currently holds a 3.97 grade point average. Simmonds has volunteered at the university’s Salvation Army Day and is active in his church community.

For the Red Cross/NAIA initiative, student-athletes will learn from civic and business leaders how to uncover their leadership potential off the field. The participants will organize campus blood drives, participate on a leadership board, and take part in diversity and cultural competency training. For their efforts, students will receive scholarship support by the Red Cross and State Farm Insurance.