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Anthany Smith, a听23-year-old Eagle Football safety, is听known for shutting down the competition and lighting up the听red Inferno.

His hard work on the field earned him听All-Big Sky Conference first team honors for 2020-21, and he was selected as defensive MVP听for the听Eagle Football team.

Hardworking athletes like Anthany bring an infectious energy to Eastern’s NCAA Division 1 athletics while increasing the university鈥檚 visibility, rallying alumni support and creating a more engaging听collegiate experience for other students.

Watching Eastern鈥檚 300-plus student athletes dominate the Big Sky Conference is thrilling, yet there is so much more to their stories.

Anthany, an Everett, Washington native, gives his very best both on and off the field.听The business management major balances a full class schedule and trips to the library, where he spends up to five hours at a time studying, with four-plus hours of practice听and听training six days a week. In his little free time, Anthany and his teammates volunteer. These demanding schedules leave no time to work an outside job.

Anthany听walked onto the听Eagle Football听team as听a听freshman听鈥� earning a听partial scholarship.听Like many of听Eastern鈥檚听student athletes,听he听is the first in his family to go to college and is on his own听to cover听most of his college and living expenses.

For two years, Anthany struggled to pay his bills and afford enough groceries. At one point, he was tired of the financial struggles and thought about quitting college and going to work full time.

Anthany, who continued playing hard on the field and studying hard in his classes, explains what kept him Eagle strong: 鈥淢entally, you鈥檝e got to always remember, 鈥榃hy am I doing this?鈥欌��

When the diligent student athlete was notified that he was awarded a full scholarship for his senior year, it was lifechanging.

鈥淚t just felt good to see that my hard work was paying off,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 appreciate people taking a chance on me and giving me this opportunity.鈥�

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