by Shaylee Souza, SDA Media Relations student assistant
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The Pac-12 Conference announced today that former Sun Devil student-athletes Hunter Atha (diving) and Alexandra Osborne (tennis) have been named recipients of Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year.
Atha and Osborne are among 22 Pac-12 student-athletes who will receive the scholarships worth $9,000 each. The scholarship is awarded to student-athletes who maintained a minimum 3.0 grade point average and demonstrated a commitment to education, campus and community involvement and leadership. Both Atha and Osborne were recipients of the 2017 Kajikawa Award, annually presented to one male and one female graduating senior student-athlete for his/her contributions at Arizona State University.
Atha, who completed his athletic eligibility in 2016, earned a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree this spring. He was a finalist for the 2016 Pac-12 Student-Athlete of the Year, in addition to being a four-time NCAA Zone qualifier and two-time Pac-12 finalist in the platform dive.
Atha was involved in community projects that included Read Across America, Learn to Swim, and the Sun Devil Athletics Food Drive. In addition, he has served as a volunteer at the Ironman Triathlon, Labor Day flag installation and the Student Art Workshop.
A 2016 Pac-12 doubles champion, Osborne joined junior Nicole Fossa Huergo to form the Devils' top doubles team in 2016-17. She earned First-Team All-America honors in doubles in 2016 was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and Pac-12 All-Academic selection as a junior. Osborne is on track to earn a Bachelors of Science degree in Management as well as a Leadership in Ethics Certificate this summer.
Osborne participated in Sparky's Caravan Tour in 2014 and 2015 and the White Mountain Apache Nation Service Trip in 2015. She has also devoted service time to projects and agencies, including Phoenix Children's Hospital, Race for the Cure, Sun Devil Movement for Violence Prevention, United Fantasy Flight, Tempe Healing Fields, and Sedona Public Library and Special Olympics.
To be selected for a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must have:
In 1999, the Postgraduate Scholarship Program was created to both honor and financially assist some of the Conference's most outstanding athletes and scholars as they continue their educations. In a program change from previous years, the Pac-12 now annually awards up to 24 scholarships of $9,000 each to former and graduating student-athletes across the conference. Through its institutional selection process, each Pac-12 institution may select two student-athletes, one man and one woman, to be awarded the scholarship.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- The Pac-12 Conference announced today that former Sun Devil student-athletes Hunter Atha (diving) and Alexandra Osborne (tennis) have been named recipients of Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year.
Atha and Osborne are among 22 Pac-12 student-athletes who will receive the scholarships worth $9,000 each. The scholarship is awarded to student-athletes who maintained a minimum 3.0 grade point average and demonstrated a commitment to education, campus and community involvement and leadership. Both Atha and Osborne were recipients of the 2017 Kajikawa Award, annually presented to one male and one female graduating senior student-athlete for his/her contributions at Arizona State University.
Atha, who completed his athletic eligibility in 2016, earned a Bachelor's of Fine Arts degree this spring. He was a finalist for the 2016 Pac-12 Student-Athlete of the Year, in addition to being a four-time NCAA Zone qualifier and two-time Pac-12 finalist in the platform dive.
Atha was involved in community projects that included Read Across America, Learn to Swim, and the Sun Devil Athletics Food Drive. In addition, he has served as a volunteer at the Ironman Triathlon, Labor Day flag installation and the Student Art Workshop.
A 2016 Pac-12 doubles champion, Osborne joined junior Nicole Fossa Huergo to form the Devils' top doubles team in 2016-17. She earned First-Team All-America honors in doubles in 2016 was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and Pac-12 All-Academic selection as a junior. Osborne is on track to earn a Bachelors of Science degree in Management as well as a Leadership in Ethics Certificate this summer.
Osborne participated in Sparky's Caravan Tour in 2014 and 2015 and the White Mountain Apache Nation Service Trip in 2015. She has also devoted service time to projects and agencies, including Phoenix Children's Hospital, Race for the Cure, Sun Devil Movement for Violence Prevention, United Fantasy Flight, Tempe Healing Fields, and Sedona Public Library and Special Olympics.
To be selected for a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must have:
- Maintained an overall undergraduate minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 (based on a 4.00 scale);
- Completed his/her final season of intercollegiate athletics eligibility in all sports or be in his/her final year of undergraduate study, having exhausted athletics eligibility in all sports;
- Been accepted to or already be enrolled as a full-time student in a graduate or professional program at an accredited institution, or in a postgraduate program for which an undergraduate degree is required for admission;
- Performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team; and
- Exemplified behavior, both in competition and beyond, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution, and intercollegiate athletics.
In 1999, the Postgraduate Scholarship Program was created to both honor and financially assist some of the Conference's most outstanding athletes and scholars as they continue their educations. In a program change from previous years, the Pac-12 now annually awards up to 24 scholarships of $9,000 each to former and graduating student-athletes across the conference. Through its institutional selection process, each Pac-12 institution may select two student-athletes, one man and one woman, to be awarded the scholarship.