Northwestern's Sauve, St. Scholastica's Steger named 2021 UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award recipients
ST. PAUL, Minn.---Among a field of 18 talented and dedicated Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) senior student-athletes recognized as finalists for the 2021 Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award, two individuals have set themselves apart from the rest through consistent success on and off the field of competition.
Jordan Sauve of the University of Northwestern has been named the 2021 UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award winner for the women, while Ryan Steger of the College of St. Scholastica has been tabbed as the male winner, the conference office announced Wednesday.
|
Finalists Release |
Past Winners |
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.
Sauve and Steger 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 honored to recognize Jordan and Ryan as our 2021 UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award recipients," said UMAC Commissioner Corey Borchardt. "These two remarkable student-athletes have outstanding achievements in athletics, academics, and campus and community pursuits. Jordan and Ryan have excelled in their sports and have demonstrated unmatched leadership capability and dedication to serving others. These leaders exemplify the NCAA Division III philosophy and UMAC core values and serve as great representatives of the type of student-athletes that the UMAC is happy to have competing."
Jordan Sauve, University of Northwestern
Hometown: Blaine, Minn.
Major(s): Biology (Pre-Medicine)
Sport(s): Basketball
Academic Honors and Achievement
- Dean's List (every semester)
- Academic All-UMAC (every year)
- Multiple Northwestern academic scholarships
- Graduated summa cum laude in December 2020
- Member of Tri-Beta Honors Biological Society
- Conducted research with Mayo Clinic IMPACT
- Hired full-time at University of Minnesota lab conducting research on cell therapy in macaques
- Plans to attend medical school for a future career in oncology
Athletics Achievement and Involvement
- Basketball team captain
- UMAC Women's Basketball All-Defensive Team (2019-20)
- UMAC All-Sportsmanship Team, women's basketball (2019-20)
- Organized team service opportunities and went on service trip to Dominican Republic
Campus and Community Leadership and Service
- Served as teaching assistant, lab assistant and tutor at Northwestern
- Volunteer at North Anoka County food shelf
- Spent three years volunteering at Abbott Northwestern Hospital
- In-home care giver for the Good Samaritan Society
- Participated in three-week volunteer trip to Dehli, India to help run a free health clinic
- Worked as emergency room medical scribe
- Completed two-year leadership development program
Video Interview with Jordan Sauve
Ryan Steger, College of St. Scholastica
Hometown: Eagan, Minn.
Major(s): Biology, Biochemistry (Pre-Medicine)
Sport(s): Cross Country, Track and Field, Nordic Skiing
Academic Honors and Achievement
- Dean's List (every semester)
- Academic All-UMAC (every year, cross country and track and field)
- CoSIDA Academic All-District and All-America honors
- Co-authored a review article and has presented research nationally on genes
- Accepted two-year research associate position at the Broad Institute, a collaboration between Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Plans to attend medical school in the future
Athletics Achievement and Involvement
- All-UMAC First Team, cross country (2018, 2019)
- All-UMAC, outdoor track and field (2018, 2019)
- UMAC Outdoor 400-meter dash, 800-meter run champion (meet record) (2019)
- Placed ninth in 800-meter run at 2019 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship
- Earned nomination for Team USA Skiing U23 team
- Academic tutor within athletics teams
Campus and Community Leadership and Service
- Pre-medicine student shadow of doctors in several specialties (over 90 hours of service)
- Helped maintain ski trails and worked with local junior programs as volunteer
- Red Cross blood drive volunteer
- Helped homeless patients during recovery at Bob Tavani Respite House
- Volunteer floor assistant visiting patients at Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center
Video Interview with Ryan Steger
Sauve and Steger will receive a commemorative plaque with their name engraved on it. Together, they become the 14th group to win the UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award since its inception in 2008.
Past UMAC Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award winners:
2020 – Riley Loukinen (North Central University), Liz Poskie (College of St. Scholastica), Talia Sherry (University of Northwestern)
2019 – Josh Koelpin (Martin Luther College), MacKenna Hinz (Bethany Lutheran College)
2018 – Nick McCormick (Crown College), Kira Grev (Martin Luther College)
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)