Graham named NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Brittany Fortuna
Issue date: 2/15/10 Section: Sports
|
The qualifications to be eligible for the NEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year require that the student-athlete must have earned a minimum of 60 semester hours, maintained a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.20 and participated with distinction as a member of a varsity team.
Graham, who plays middle blocker, is excited about the award.
"It feels good," Graham said. "I know a lot of the other girls in the NEC are good students as well so I think I was also a little lucky,"
But with a GPA of 3.99 and a nuclear medicine major, it looks as if Graham has all the luck in the world.
While Graham mentioned that the award took her completely by surprise, she hopes that it will be extra motivation for her to maintain her remarkable grades and GPA.
"There was a lot of competition, so it was an even bigger honor when I received news about my winning the award. It definitely was a surprise! I was not expecting anything like this," Graham admitted.
Her supremacy inside the classroom is matched only by her play on the court, which has resulted in her being one of the most dominating players in RMU women's volleyball history.
This past season, Graham led the Colonials and ranked second in the conference in attack percentage (.332) while pacing RMU in solo blocks (19), block assists (84) and total blocks (103). Graham tied her own school record for block assists in 2009, a mark she originally established in 2008.
Named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine District II Academic All-America Team, Graham finished second for Robert Morris in kills (237) and service aces (28) while contributing 71 digs this past season. A three-time All-NEC selection, she has taken home first team honors in both 2007 and 2009 while being named to the All-NEC Second Team in 2008.
Graham will enter her senior season in 2010 ranked second all-time at RMU for career attack percentage (.332) and block assists (233), while her 287 total blocks currently ranks fifth in the career record book.
While her congratulatory texts flowed in even before Graham knew she had won, she didn't do much to celebrate.
With graduation coming up next year, Graham has some pretty big plans for her future.
"I hope to stay in school for as long as possible. I'm not really sure what route I want to take yet. I will be taking the MCATs and PCATs this summer, so hopefully medical school or pharmacy school or some sort of masters program will be my route. Whatever it is, as long as I like what I am doing I will be happy," Graham predicted.
Be the first to comment on this story