It’s been more than 12 years since Shellie Mosman attended her first ISU women’s basketball game.

The trip may have seemed innocuous at the time, but a simple, hour-long car ride down Highway 30 sparked a love for a university that has never been stronger than now.

She won’t appear in the school record books, was never the leading scorer in a game and didn’t get to play the glory minutes in games that have defined the program over the past four years.

Instead, her career was about something much greater: the unconditional love and support for her team, university and community that began more than a decade ago.

Because of her hard work and dedication that have come as a result, the impact Mosman left on those around her will resonate far beyond her time in Ames.

“She is what Iowa State is supposed to be about,” said coach Bill Fennelly. “If you talk to people here and ask ‘What does Iowa State want to be, what does Iowa State represent and what does Iowa State want to do for young people?’ Shellie Mosman is a living, breathing example of just that. She is every good thing that Iowa State stands for.”

Mosman said there was never a doubt in her mind about where she wanted to play college basketball.

She was the earliest recruit ever to commit to Fennelly’s team, giving him a verbal pledge when she was just a 15-year-old high school freshman.

Although she, like the rest, dreamed of being a superstar, things for Mosman never panned out in that fashion at Iowa State.

She has only played in 71 of 134 games in four years and has averaged just 1.1 points and 5.7 minutes per game.

But the Carroll native was still able to embrace her role as a true student-athlete, doing everything she possibly could to be a positive influence on the lives of those around her.

“I don’t know if I could have done everything without her,” said Anna Florzak, a fellow senior and bridesmaid in Mosman’s summer wedding. “She’s a great role model because she does everything right. Whether it’s her work ethic on the court or setting good examples off the court, she has been a key component to the success of this team.”

Even at a quick glance, it’s easy to see what has made Mosman a great ambassador for women’s college basketball.

For starters, she maintained a 4.0 GPA while getting her undergraduate degree in finance in just three years, and will receive her master’s degree in accounting this May.

Her efforts in the classroom were recognized when she and Florzak were named to the 2010 Big 12 All-Academic First Team earlier in March.

Mosman also currently serves as the vice president for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, and has been a member since 2007.

She has been involved in numerous community service activities, volunteering for the United Way of Caring and a Des Moines homeless shelter, helping to raise more than $10,000 for the MS Walk in the last three years and annually participating in Iowa State’s Dance Marathon, a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network and University of Iowa Children’s Hospital.

In addition to her busy schedule of athletics, academics and community service, she also finds time to make regular trips to area elementary schools to read to students.

Her outstanding record in the classroom and with the community earned her a spot in this year’s Chick-fil-A Winter Community of Champions.

“She’s one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met,” Fennelly said.

“She embraced the opportunity to be a scholarship student athlete and has really impacted the university. Even if it’s not on the court, she has always understood how using a college education can further her lifelong dreams, and that’s exactly what she’s done.”

On top of all of the contributions she has made in her time at Iowa State, Mosman is also engaged to former Cyclone basketball player and fellow Carroll native Sean Haluska.

Haluska proposed to Mosman on the Hilton Coliseum court last year, and the two are scheduled to marry in Carroll on July 17.

Among all of other things on her piled up on her plate, she has made weekend trips back to her hometown this season to house shop and prepare for her wedding and life after college.

“It’s a totally different kind of stress,” Mosman said.

“The past four years, I’ve had to juggle a lot more because of academics, but now I have to look more to my future, because life after basketball is right around the corner. It’s stressful, trying to get all of that ready to go with basketball still going on, but everything is very exciting right now.”

While it might not have been the glorious career she may have imagined, Mosman will still leave behind a legacy of being the program’s shining example of a humanitarian.

She has helped show that a college athlete doesn’t need to score 20 points per game or make season-altering plays to make a difference in peoples’ lives.

“Without her, this is certainly a team that doesn’t understand or appreciate as much what it means to play here,” Fennelly said. “It would be a team that doesn’t realize the value of things off the court or the impact that you came make on other people on a daily basis, and how that should be a part of your responsibility as a student-athlete.”

The things that she has done for the university and community have gone largely unnoticed by most of the general public, but those around her have realized just how important she has been to Iowa State and the City of Ames.

And the basketball program is in a much better place because of it.