Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives and Tribal Adaptive Organization have announced the winners of the fourth annual Tribal Adaptive Student-Athlete of the Year Award, recognizing two outstanding Native student-athletes with physical disabilities.
The award, launched in 2021, honors one male and one female student-athlete who have demonstrated resilience, dedication, and achievement both in the classroom and in competitive sports. The initiative aims to inspire Native youth living with disabilities to pursue adaptive sports and higher education opportunities.
Although adaptive sports programs at the collegiate level have grown nationwide, physically and mobility-impaired Native American student-athletes remain underrepresented. Eve’s Fund and Tribal Adaptive hope that these annual awards will help change that narrative.
“The awards recognize the two students’ hard work and perseverance in overcoming obstacles to achieving their goals, both as athletes and students, redefining the possibilities for young people with physical disabilities,” the organizations said in a joint statement.
Each of the 2025 honorees will receive a $1,500 scholarship from Eve’s Fund and a custom, hand-crafted beaded medallion created by Tribal Adaptive Organization.
This year’s female student-athlete honoree is Ari Hernandez, a Mixteca high school sophomore from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hernandez, who attends Atrisco Heritage Academy, was born with a condition that causes joint and muscle stiffness from the waist down. She has played competitive wheelchair basketball for seven years and excels in math. She hopes to attend a college with strong adaptive athletic opportunities and a rigorous academic program.
The male student-athlete honoree is Derek Parrish, a 34-year-old Diné student from Sanostee, New Mexico, and a junior at Southwest Minnesota State University. Parrish became paralyzed below the waist following a vehicular accident but has continued to excel in adaptive sports, including competitive wheelchair basketball, mono skiing, and adaptive mountain biking. After graduation, he plans to become a gym teacher in the Navajo Nation school system. He is also a skilled hobbyist artisan who creates Native beadwork.
Both honorees will serve as ambassadors for the missions of Tribal Adaptive Organization and Eve’s Fund, representing the growing visibility and achievement of adaptive Native athletes across Indian Country.