Northwestern's Nick Olson, Minnesota-Morris’ Maddy Gerber named recipients of the UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award
ST. PAUL -- Nick Olson and Maddy Gerber have been named the recipients of the 2010 Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award. The award, which is given to one male and one female student-athlete from UMAC member-institutions, recognizes graduating seniors who demonstrate a healthy balance by achieving excellence in academics, leadership, and service, while participating in intercollegiate athletics.
The NCAA Division III athlete is unique among intercollegiate athletes because, at Division III institutions, student-athletes receive no financial aid for athletic participation. Such institutions emphasize the overall quality of the educational experience and the successful completion of the student’s academic program; athletic participation is an important part of that educational experience. The UMAC Scholar-Athlete Award is presented to students who embody what it means to be an NCAA Division III athlete. Through this award, the UMAC recognizes the role athletics plays in developing leaders by rewarding athletes' excellence in the classroom as well as service to the community. The league’s faculty athletic representatives nominate and vote on this honor.
Olson is a golf student-athlete at Northwestern College who will graduate in May with a degree in accounting. Off the golf course, Olson has won UMAC Academic All-Conference honors in each of the three years he was eligible while being named to Northwestern’s dean’s list with highest honors in 2008 and 2009. He received one of only 100 Culver’s Scholarships given in the nation as a freshman in 2006. From the tee box to the green, Olson has captained the Eagles golf team the last two seasons and has earned UMAC All-Conference accolades in each of his four years of competition, meaning he has finished as one of the top five golfers at the conference tournament. Olson won medalist honors at the 2010 UMAC finale. His resume is filled with unpaid volunteer experiences including over 50 hours spent with Urban Homeworks, Feed My Starving Children and Impact Lives. Olson’s post-college career will begin at KPMG, one of the world’s most distinguished accounting firms.
Dr. Marie Miller, who chairs the UMAC’s committee of faculty athletics representatives, noted that the voting council was particularly impressed with Olson’s breadth of service with his participation in a wide variety of service projects. The leadership he has taken in both paid and unpaid positions, with extraordinary accomplishment in expanding the parameters of his positions beyond initial expectations, was also intriguing to the committee.
Gerber, a soccer player who has been a standout student-athlete at the University of Minnesota-Morris in each of the last four years, will graduate in May with a double-major in biology and psychology. Like Olson, Gerber was an academic all-conference winner in 2007, 2008 and 2009. She also received National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Scholar-Athlete honors in 2008 and 2009 while being named an American Achievement Academy Academic All-American in 2006 and 2008. Gerber was selected for summer research in microbiology and independently secured a research grant and presented it at the National Microbiology Symposium in 2009. In 2010, Gerber was selected to receive the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. On the soccer pitch, Gerber was a four-time all-conference player. While maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 4.0, Gerber captained the Cougars women’s soccer team in 2008 and 2009, which included organizing community service projects at Feed My Starving Children, Stevens County Gifts for a Family and Toss for Charity. She also organized the donation of her team’s old uniforms for underprivileged urban youth. Following her graduation from Minnesota, Morris, Gerber will continue her education at The Ohio State University, where she will work towards a Ph.D. in microbiology.
Gerber impressed the council with her exceptional academic achievement, including securing a grant and engaging in original research as an undergraduate student. The recent announcement of Gerber earning the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship also made an impression on the committee as she accomplished all of her work while taking on meaningful leadership roles in a variety of service projects in addition to participating in intercollegiate athletics.
UMAC Commissioner Corey Borchardt noted, “Nick and Maddy are outstanding representatives of the type of student-athletes that participate in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference. What is particularly most impressive about these two individuals is the incredible amount of volunteer work they have both completed for charitable causes and organizations in addition to their significant academic and athletic accomplishments. Nick and Maddy will undoubtedly use their undergraduate experiences to propel them into successful careers. The UMAC is proud to have had individuals like them represent the conference both in the competitive setting and in their other pursuits away from intercollegiate athletics.”
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The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference is comprised of eight full and six associate members located throughout the Midwest. Originally formed in 1972 as the Twin Rivers Conference, the league was renamed in 1983. The UMAC is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. The conference provides its member institutions the opportunity to be recognized in the areas of academic excellence and athletic competitiveness. The UMAC awards conference championships in 18 sports.
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