Kira Grev, Nick McCormick named 2018 winners of UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Among a field of 18 talented and dedicated Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) senior student-athletes recognized as finalists for the 2018 Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award, two individuals have set themselves apart from the rest through consistent success on and off the field of competition.
Kira Grev of Martin Luther College and Nick McCormick of Crown College have been selected as the winners of the 2018 UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award, the conference office announced Wednesday.
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Finalists Release |
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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 honor is awarded annually to one male and one female graduating senior from UMAC full member-institutions.
Grev and McCormick emerged from a group of finalists that demonstrates a healthy balance by achieving excellence in academics, leadership, and service while participating in intercollegiate athletics. Finalists for each institution were nominated by the UMAC Faculty Athletics Representatives (FAR) and the winners were also selected by the FAR Council.
"The UMAC is thrilled to recognize Kira and Nick as our 2018 UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award honorees," UMAC Commissioner Corey Borchardt said. "These student-athletes have achieved remarkable accomplishments in athletics, academics, and campus and community pursuits. Further, Kira and Nick have both demonstrated strong leadership capability and dedication to serving others in numerous ways. They exemplify the NCAA Division III philosophy and UMAC core values as they both serve as great representatives of the type of student-athletes that the UMAC is honored to have competing."
Kira Grev, Martin Luther College
During her time at Martin Luther, Grev distinguished herself as a student-athlete who leads both on and off the court through her ability to develop strong relationships, which has yielded her numerous accolades and prepared her for a future as an educator.
“Through volleyball I’ve been able to form many positive relationships with other people,” said Grev, “and that has shown me that if you genuinely care about others and have an others-focused mindset, then that will help them success far beyond what even they expected.”
The three-year captain and secondary mathematics education major used her leadership abilities to take the Martin Luther volleyball program to four-consecutive UMAC postseason tournaments which including two five-set opening round wins in 2016 and 2017 – one of Grev’s favorite memories as a Knight. She also finished her career as a four-time All-UMAC First Team selection and ranks third all-time at Martin Luther in career kills (1,167) and eighth in career digs (1,070).
While Grev added immensely to the Knights’ attack on the court, she proved to be a valuable extension of the coaching staff who did a lot of behind-the-scenes work, according to Head Coach Rebecca Cox. “Grev is a very mature player and person and capable of seeing the big picture,” Cox said. “She has very good organizational skills and is very responsible. She was a key contributor and developed our core values for our program. She was willing to take on the tough issues as a captain and had keen insights.”
Grev’s accomplishments in the classroom may be even more impressive than what she has accomplished on the court. She boasts a near-perfect 3.98 grade point average (GPA) and earned four Academic All-UMAC honors. She was awarded Martin Luther’s top academic scholarship each of her four years and was recognized with the Micheel Scholarship which goes to a secondary education major in a math or science area.
In addition to her academic and athletic accomplishments, Grev’s passion for math and volleyball has also driven her serve others through those passion during her time at Martin Luther. Grev polished her teaching skills as a tutor in a variety of math classes including calculus, and spent time giving volleyball lessons in the community and volunteering as an official in adult leagues at the recreation center. She has also volunteered at summer camps through her high school each of the last seven years.
While Grev always has some focus on putting in maximum effort and yielding positive results for herself, she gains the most satisfaction from serving others. “My focus when persevering through challenges is on those who will benefit from my actions and training,” said Grev. “I work hard and apply myself to each task set before me for the love of the game, because of my passion for learning, and out of thankfulness to my God. I am passionate about more than just the grade or the win; I am passionate about the people I serve and all the ways I can encourage, enable, and inspire them to succeed.”
Following graduation, Grev will pursue a career teaching high school math in the Madison, Wisconsin, area and will also seek opportunities to coach volleyball.
Nick McCormick, Crown College
Driven by a passion for serving others and missions work, McCormick has touched numerous members of the Crown campus and local community during his time as a dedicated student, athlete and servant which has prepared him to passionately educate young people in his career.
“I’ve really just tried to adopt a mindset of leading through my actions rather than words and have a servant-like mindset like Christ did for me,” said McCormick. “It’s really exciting just to be able to see some of the hard work pay off both in the classroom and some of the things I’ve done in the community. But more importantly, it pays off for all those people that invested in me in my time here at Crown.”
McCormick’s hard work and ability to lead within the football program led him to a two-year position as captain and earned him the 2017 Crown Football Timothy Award for leadership. “Nick was a coach on the field,” said Head Coach John Auer. “He knew every position and helped others understand their role. He also showed leadership in one-on-one situations with teammates.”
During his four years with the football team, McCormick recorded two touchdowns at wide receiver in each of his last three seasons. His top memory as an athlete came when he caught his first collegiate touchdown pass from his brother, Brandon McCormick, in 2015 in front of friends and family on the road in Illinois.
While balancing the demands of being a Division III football player, McCormick achieved a strong 3.958 GPA and earned four Academic All-UMAC accolades. He also is a four-year member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and has been on the dean’s list every semester.
As an elementary education major, McCormick’s service experience has naturally gravitated toward working with youth. During his time at Crown, McCormick has served as a head middle school basketball coach and volunteered his time working with a high school youth group several hours a week. Additionally, McCormick has been a volunteer junior varsity assistant coach during the summers with his high school football program and was a student assistant coach with the Crown women’s basketball team.
For McCormick, though, his most rewarding service experience has been taking several mission trips to the Dominican Republic and Ecuador. In particular, he was a trip leader to the Amazon rainforest region of Ecuador and was responsible for spending the whole year leading up to the trip fundraising and leading team meetings. He then took a team of 12 on the trip where they did several construction projects, taught English to elementary students and participated in sport activities.
McCormick knows that his experiences at Crown and lessons learned from staff and faculty have prepared him to serve as a teach. “There were so many good role models for me at Crown College,” he said. “I’m really excited to take on the role of being a role model for other kids and just seeing the way I can impact their life just as others have done for me.”
Beginning in the fall, McCormick will teach middle school science in his hometown of Peoria, Illinois, and will also coach at the school.
Grev and McCormick will receive a commemorative plaque with their name engraved on it. Together, they become the 11th group to win the UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award since its inception in 2008.
Past UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award winners:
2017 – John Haseman (University of Minnesota Morris), Elissa Pheneger (North Central University)
2016 – Louis Corcoran (Northland College), Annaliese Schroeder (North Central University)
2015 – Sutton Rehwalt (North Central University), Olivia Krejcarek (College of St. Scholastica)
2014 – Brendan Foss (University of Minnesota Morris), Krista Stoltz (University of Northwestern), Abby Fragodt (University of Minnesota Morris)
2013 – Brett Tester (College of St. Scholastica), Kali Cordes (University of Minnesota Morris)
2012 – Brady Giffith (Crown College), Joelle Pipal (Bethany Lutheran College)
2011 – Toby Peter (College of St. Scholastica), April Cook (Martin Luther College)
2010 – Nick Olson (Northwestern College), Maddy Gerber (University of Minnesota Morris)
2009 – Zach Marshall (Northwestern College), Eva Voss (Bethany Lutheran College)
2008 – Nathan Nass (Martin Luther College), Christopher Rubesch (College of St. Scholastica), Kristin Scislow (Bethany Lutheran College)