CoSIDA Chooses 2015-16 Scholarship and Grant Recipients
The 2015-16 recipients, above: L to R, clockwise: Kevin Juday, Elmburst SID; Elmhurst will receive the Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant ($12,000); Andrew Forhan (Whitworth University), Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500); Akalih Laster (Oklahoma), Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500); Nathan Edwards (San Jose State), Fred Nuesch Undergraduate Scholarship ($3,000) and Marisa Lombardo (Alvernia University), Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarship ($3,000); and Brinley Lowe and Lauren Dickerson, CoSIDA’s two $1,000 Member-Child Scholarship recipients.
by Jeff Griesch, University of Nebraska Media Relations/CoSIDA Scholarship Committee
The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced the winners of a combined $35,000 in scholarships and grants to the recipients of their 2015-16 awards on Thursday, June 11.
CoSIDA Scholarship Committee members chose a pair of $7,500 postgraduate scholarship recipients, two more $3,000 undergraduate scholarship winners, two $1,000 scholarship winners among the children of CoSIDA members, and selected one school to receive a $12,000 graduate internship grant.
The scholarships will be formally announced during CoSIDA’s annual workshop in Orlando, June 15-18.
The Fred Nuesch-Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarships and Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant have been awarded since 1999, when CoSIDA expanded its scholarship program in order to foster interest in the sports information field. Since presenting the first Wylie Smith Graduate Scholarship in 1981, CoSIDA has provided nearly $500,000 in grants to students working in sports information offices at member institutions and conferences.
To be eligible for either the Postgraduate or Undergraduate Scholarships, candidates must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average and express an interest in pursuing a career in sports information.
Andrew Forhan (Whitworth University), a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in administrative leadership at Whitworth in Spokane, Wash., earned the Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500). Forhan, who graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree as a journalism and mass communications major with a 3.888 GPA at Whitworth, began working as a sports information assistant for Assistant Athletic Director/Sports Information Director Steve Flegel in August of 2014. Forhan also has worked for the Bellingham Bells, a collegiate summer baseball team in the West Coast League. Forhan was heavily involved on the staff of the school newspaper, The Whitworthian, where he served as Editor-in-Chief as a senior in 2013-14 and Sports Editor in 2012-13. Forhan also worked on the regional sports desk for the Associated Press from August of 2013 through March of 2014, while attending Whitworth.
The Wylie Smith Postgraduate Scholarship is named in honor of the former CoSIDA Scholarships Committee chairman and long-time Sports Information Director at Northern Arizona University.
Akilah Laster claimed the Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship ($7,500). Laster, who earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Miami in May of 2007, is pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma while serving as an Athletics Diversity Council Graduate Assistant. She assists the OU Communications Department, focusing much of her attention on the Sooner football and track and field programs.
Laster served as a volunteer at the Big 12 Conference men’s basketball tournament in March, and for the 2015 Cotton Bowl. She previously served as a communications intern for the Orange Bowl games in 2013 and 2014. She spent three years as a freelance writer for the Miami Herald and Miami Times/SFHSSports.com from 2011 to 2014. She spent nearly six years as a language arts teacher in the Miami Dade County Public Schools following her graduation from the University of Miami.
The Langston Rogers Postgraduate Scholarship is named in honor of former Mississippi Sports Information Director and CoSIDA Hall of Famer Langston Rogers, who served as the SID at Ole Miss from 1981 until his retirement in 2010. The scholarship is presented annually to a rising minority or female student.
CoSIDA’s Fred Nuesch Undergraduate Scholarship award ($3,000) was presented to Nathan Edwards from San Jose State University and the Dave Wohlhueter Undergraduate Scholarship ($3,000) was awarded to Marisa Lombardo from Alvernia University.
Edwards, a senior business administration/management major from Napa, Calif., captured the Nuesch Scholarship with a 3.629 GPA at San Jose State. Edwards, who serves as the primary contact for the SJSU baseball and women’s tennis teams in Athletics Media Relations Director Lawrence Fan’s office, has also assisted with media relations for the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers. Edwards was previously a communications intern at the University of San Francisco.
Lombardo earned the Wohlhueter Scholarship after compiling a 3.96 GPA as a marketing and communications major at Alvernia. The junior from Reading, Pa., has been a member of the Alvernia Sports Information Department for Associate Athletic Director Jon King since September of 2013. She expects to graduate in May of 2017. A member of the Alvernia Honors Program, Lombardo serves as the Executive Vice President of the Campus Activities Board. In addition to her duties in the Alvernia SID Office, Lombardo will also serve as a volunteer at the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster Country Club in July.
CoSIDA’s two $1,000 Member-Child Scholarships were awarded to Lauren Dickerson and Brinley Lowe. Dickerson, who will be a sophomore at the College of William & Mary, is the daughter of Atlantic 10 Conference Assistant Commissioner Drew Dickerson. Lauren plans to major in history and government at William & Mary, where she carries a 3.6 grade-point average, and is involved with the International Relations Club and the club swim team. She graduated from Jamestown High School in Williamsburg, Va., after participating on the state champion swim team and serving as the drum major for the high school band.
Lowe, an incoming freshman at North Carolina, is the daughter of Berry College Sports Information Director Bob Lowe. Brinley graduated from the Weaver Academy in Greensboro, N.C., where she earned a weighted GPA of 4.6 and was an officer in National Honor Society. Lowe is active in theatre and recently appeared as Anne in Anne of Green Gables. She plans to major in political science and statistics at North Carolina.
In addition to the six scholarships, CoSIDA awarded the 2015-16 Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant ($12,000) to Elmhurst College. Elmhurst Sports Information Director Kevin Juday covers 20 NCAA Division III varsity sports on his own. Over the past three years, Elmhurst has advanced to the NCAA football playoffs and had a player earn the Gagliardi Trophy as the NCAA Division III Player of the Year. Elmhurst also served as a host for NCAA regional volleyball competition before advancing to the NCAA semifinals. The wrestling team added a second-place national finish and featured three individual national champions, while the men’s basketball team added an NCAA Tournament bid. The Phil Langan Graduate Internship Grant provides funds for a sports information office to hire a graduate intern on a one-year basis, hoping the success of the program can help the school demonstrate the need for additional assistance in the future.
All-Time CoSIDA Honorees
Postgraduate Scholarship
1981 Craig Bohnert, Evansville
1982 John Lashway, Oregon
1983 Jay Hill, Michigan
1984 Jonathan Dukes, Georgia Southern
1985 Brian Teter, Illinois State
1986 Mark Berger, Ohio
1987 Chris McMurry, Northern Arizona
1988 Angela Hultman, Mankato State
1989 Beth Haag, Iowa State
1990 Stephanie Grimes, Boise State
1991 Lana Bandy, Purdue
1992 Amy Stabley, Central Michigan / Robert Hester, Northern Illinois
1993 Will Roleson, Miami (Ohio)
1994 Randy Hayson, Illinois State
1995 Stuart McFarland, Missouri / Sally Krauss, Western Kentucky
1996 Jeff Griesch, Nebraska
1997 Chris Ambrose, Purdue / Jeff Griesch, Nebraska
1998 Chris Ambrose, Purdue / Brian Gunning, Marshall
1999 Brian Gunning, Marshall / Heidi Roth, Syracuse
2000 Mark Fratto, Maryland / Andy Knappick, Illinois State
2001 Brad Caudill, Eastern Michigan / Susan Seabrook, Alabama-Birmingham
2002 Michelle Kelley, Colgate / Sean Wright, Westminster (Mo.)
2003 Brad Fischer, Wisconsin-La Crosse / Lainie Guiddy, West Virginia
2004 Eric Braley, Northern Iowa / Kristopher Sears, Indiana
2005 Michael Potter, Ball State / Erin Whiteside, Penn State
2006 Chris Yandle, Marshall / Jessica Calderone, Southeast Louisiana
2007 Caroline Domecq, Georgia / Kyle Chilton, Southern Virginia
2008 Jared Verner, Northwest Missouri State / Kendra Lee, Ohio State
2009 Laurie Wild, Northern Iowa / Britney Wright, Florida State
2010 Grant Abston, Texas / Mariel Brady, St. John’s
2011 Andrew Lentz, Tennessee / Britney Reddick, Kutztown
2012 Carli Todd, DePaul / Joelle Milholm, Cal State Bakersfield
2013 Kim Carper, Vanderbilt / Joelle Milholm, Cal State Bakersfield
2014 Kati Morse, Southeastern Louisiana / Kyle Skene, Millsaps
2015 Andrew Forhan, Whitworth / Akilah Laster, Oklahoma
Undergraduate Scholarship
1999 Kate Adams, Iowa State / Michelle La Scola, Northern Illinois / Casey Taylor, Christopher Newport
2000 Daniel Dykstra, Wheaton (Ill.) / Kimberly Frederick, Manhattan / Bobbie Horstman, Iowa State
2001 Bobbie Horstman, Iowa State / Shayla Reiff, Mt. Vernon Nazarene / Dustin Roberts, Oklahoma
2002 Branie Davidson, Northwest Missouri State / Shante Gree, Fayetteville State / Teri LaJeunesse, Michigan Tech
2003 Kimberly Gray Folkes, Virginia Tech / Adam Holtz, Bethany Lutheran / Laura Schoenberger, Pittsburg State
2004 Cassie Chance, Mississippi State / Nick Kiger, Colorado State
2005 John Vogel, Youngstown State / Monique Bowman, Capital University
2006 Todd Zeidler, Bemidji / Amy Robertson, Mississippi State
2007 Caleb Hawley, Oregon State / Christina Marshall, James Madison
2008 Andrew Middleman, Baldwin-Wallace / Kevin Flora, University of the Cumberlands
2009 Carli Todd, Tampa / David Bodman, La Salle
2010 Michael Benson, Southern Illinois-Carbondale / James Rodriguez, Baldwin-Wallace
2011 Adam K. Moussa, Memphis / Erica LaBranche, Stonehill
2012 Jake Faber, Pittsburg State / Ashley Goettl, Wisconsin-River Falls
2013 Casey Bonk, Pittsburgh / Lucy Montgomery, Washington-St. Louis
2014 Mike Mulcahy, New Mexico / Kourtney Freiburger, Purdue
2015 Nathan Edwards, San Jose State / Marisa Lombardo, Alvernia
Graduate Internship Grant
1999 Alabama A&M, Wright State
2000 Central Oklahoma, Urbana (Ohio)
2001 Central State (Ohio), Cheyney
2002 Eckerd College, Hardin-Simmons
2003 St. Francis (N.Y.), Tennessee Tech
2004 Carroll College
2005 Wesleyan University
2006 Bellarmine
2007 Central College of Iowa
2008 Grand Canyon University
2009 Lake Erie College
2010 Illinois Wesleyan
2011 Ursinus
2012 DePauw
2013 Chicago State
2014 Gallaudet
2015 Elmhurst College
Member Child Scholarship
2014 Grace Neely (Kentucky)/Tony Neely (Kentucky) - Dakota Hawkins (Winthrop)/Michael Hawkins (Francis Marion)
2015 Brinley Lowe (North Carolina)/Bob Lowe (Berry College) - Lauren Dickerson (William & Mary)/Drew Dickerson (Atlantic 10 Conference)