NAPERVILLE – North Central junior student-athlete Corey Phillips was named the recipient of the 2025 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) Chris Martin Perseverance Award, the league office announced Tuesday. Phillips is the sixth recipient of the annual award.
 
The Chris Martin Perseverance Award honors a student-athlete who demonstrates an unwavering commitment and perseverance to overcome a physical challenge in order to compete at the highest levels of CCIW athletics. The CCIW Council of Presidents established the award in April 2019. Senior Woman Administrators at each CCIW institution brought forth nominations and voted for Phillips to be the award recipient earlier this month.
 
Phillips, a sprinter on the North Central men’s track & field team and a previous member of the NCC football program, wears hearing aids in both ears after being diagnosed with hearing loss at age six. Phillips – a triplet – has mild hearing loss in his left ear and moderate to severe hearing loss in his right ear. 
 
In addition to contributing to the Cardinals’ CCIW track & field titles over the previous three seasons and earning All-CCIW honors in the 200 meters at the 2024 CCIW Outdoor Championships, the Sugar Grove, Ill native is the founder and CEO of Social Storm LLC, a media company dedicated to empowering youth through financial literacy and entrepreneurship. Phillips’s work has served more than 1,000 young people in Chicago. 
 
He was able to secure a summer 2025 internship in programming and engagement with Related Midwest, a developer of luxury condominium and rental homes, affordable housing communities and mixed-use properties in Chicago. He’s also working alongside the City of Chicago to develop summer curriculum for youth programs aimed at financial education during critical months when many young people lack productive engagement.
 
“I believe in a future where young people across the world can realize their full potential, lead fulfilling lives and build a better tomorrow for themselves and their families,” Phillips said. “By spreading entrepreneurship and personal development, I aim to inspire the leaders of the future — one step, one investment, and one conversation at a time.”
 
Chris Martin was the first full-time commissioner of the CCIW and served in that capacity from 2002 through 2019. This award recognizes his legacy of perseverance enduring the challenges of a lifelong hearing disability and a highly accomplished tenure leading the CCIW through a period of growth and success.
 
CCIW Chris Martin Perseverance Award Winners
2025: Corey Phillips, North Central (Men’s Track & Field)
2024: Annie Tate, Wheaton (Women's Basketball)
2023: Delaney Walsh, Augustana (Women’s Bowling)
2022: Hayley Earl, Illinois Wesleyan (Softball)
2021: Gabrielle Coulthard, Millikin (Women's Volleyball)
2020: Sinead Molloy, North Park (Women's Basketball)