Southern Conference announces Graduate Scholars

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its 10 postgraduate scholarship recipients for the 2015-16 academic year Wednesday. The 10 student-athletes will be honored for their accomplishments at the Southern Conference Honors Dinner in Hilton Head Island, S.C., on Wednesday, June 1.

This year’s honorees include: EnVeritas Group Scholarship recipient Alicia Payne (Chattanooga); Dave Hart Graduate Scholarship recipient Hayden Alford (VMI); Dorothy Hicks Graduate Scholarship recipient Taylor Sigmon (Western Carolina); Innovative Office Solutions Scholarship recipient Jo Wilks (Furman); David Knight Graduate Scholarship recipient Lucy Mason (UNCG); Bob McCloskey Insurance Graduate Scholarship recipients Zach Hughes (Samford) and Natalie Shiver (Mercer); William Moore Graduate Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith recipient Katherine Whisenhunt (Wofford); and Mike Wood Graduate Scholarship recipients Maggie Grisell (Furman) and Maggie Cropp (Mercer).

The recipients are nominated by their schools and selected by the Southern Conference Graduate Scholar Committee. The scholarships, worth $2,000 each, are awarded to student-athletes about to receive their undergraduate degrees who intend to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional school. The student-athletes are evaluated on academics, athletics and community service.

Alicia Payne, Chattanooga – EnVeritas Group Scholar
Chattanooga women’s basketball player Alicia Payne is the recipient of the inaugural EnVeritas Group Graduate Scholarship. Payne, a two-time SoCon Defensive Player of the Year and the 2016 tournament Most Outstanding Player, helped the Mocs to their fourth SoCon tournament title and NCAA appearance in as many years. The two-year starting point guard owns a 3.89 GPA in social work and intends to pursue a master’s degree in that field while serving as a graduate assistant coach for the Mocs. A four-year member of the Dean’s List, Payne has earned Academic All-SoCon distinction and earned the Commissioner’s Medal for having a GPA over 3.5 in multiple years. Payne has logged hundreds of hours of community service throughout her collegiate career, amassing more than 300 organizing Fellowship of Christian Athletes camps and 400 during an unpaid internship with the Chattanooga Department of Youth & Family Development, where she was able to work with families with financial needs. Payne hopes to eventually work for an agency that advocates for social and economic justice for low-income populations.

Hayden Alford, VMI – Dave Hart Graduate Scholar
VMI football player Hayden Alford is the 2016 recipient of the Dave Hart Graduate Scholarship. A punter and backup quarterback, Alford handled primary punting duties for the Keydets for the last two seasons. After unleashing a school-record 69-yard punt in 2014, Alford averaged 39.8 yards per punt in 2015, pinning opponents inside their 20-yard line seven times. He also threw for 158 yards and a touchdown and was named VMI’s player of the game three times in 2015. Alford has also excelled in the classroom, as the chemistry major with a 3.93 GPA earned spots in the Phi Eta Sigma National Freshman Honor Society and the Gamma Sigma Epsilon National Chemistry Honor Society. In addition, he earned the Ritchey Third Class Award as the top organic chemistry student at VMI and the James Lewis Howe Award as the Institute’s top chemistry major for the class of 2016. Alford has accrued more than 300 hours as a volunteer physician aid and nearly 200 as a quarterback mentor for high school students. Alford intends to pursue a career in medicine.

Taylor Sigmon, Western Carolina – Dorothy Hicks Graduate Scholar
Western Carolina softball player Taylor Sigmon is the 2016 recipient of the Dorothy Hicks Graduate Scholarship. The versatile pitcher/infielder is the Catamounts’ all-time leader in saves, opponent batting average and RBIs and holds single-season school records in ERA, opponent batting average, saves and strikeouts per 7 innings. She threw the first perfect game in school history on April 13 of this season, retiring all 21 North Carolina A&T batters and setting the WCU career RBI record in the same game. A communication sciences and disorders major, Sigmon boasts a nearly flawless 3.98 GPA and has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District III First Team twice in her career already. The three-year captain, who aspires to be a speech-language pathologist, has been active in the Western Carolina community and beyond, taking multiple mission trips to Texas and Mexico and volunteering for two years with WCU’s University Participant Program, working with college-aged persons on campus with intellectual disabilities. Sigmon plans to pursue a master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders at Western Carolina.

Jo Wilks, Furman – Innovative Office Solutions Scholar
Furman volleyball player Jo Wilks has earned the inaugural Innovative Office Solutions Graduate Scholarship. A three-time All-SoCon selection and the 2012 Rayna Taylor Freshman of the Year, Wilks helped the Paladins to a regular-season league title in 2014 and the SoCon tournament title in 2015, earning tournament MVP honors as a senior. The four-year starting setter finished her career as Furman’s all-time assists leader. Wilks is a three-time winner of the SoCon Commissioner’s Medal and carries a 3.76 GPA in health sciences. She intends to pursue a master’s degree in public health with a focus in cardiovascular disease epidemiology with the goal of ultimately earning a doctorate and becoming an epidemiologist. Outside of the classroom and off the court, Wilks volunteers with Serenity Place, a residential substance abuse treatment center for pregnant women and young mothers with children under 5, providing evening childcare and organizing donations to assist with dental care. Wilks has also worked with LiveWell Greenville, educating students about public health initiatives in the city, and on Furman’s Athletic Service Board, giving student-athletes representation in the athletics department and around campus.

Lucy Mason, UNCG – David Knight Graduate Scholar
UNCG women’s basketball player Lucy Mason is the 2016 recipient of the David Knight Graduate Scholarship. One of the most decorated players in school history, Mason graduated in just three and a half years with a double major in economics and African American and African diaspora studies. A two-time all-conference guard and the media’s pick for SoCon Freshman of the Year in 2012-13, Mason finished her career as the Spartans’ all-time leading scorer and No. 10 on the SoCon’s career scoring list with 1,907 points. This season, Mason became UNCG’s first-ever first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in women’s basketball and earned ADA Scholar Athlete honors for the second straight season. Mason, who owns a 3.80 GPA, is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, the National Society of College Scholars and the Golden Chain Honor Society. She has served as the president of UNCG’s chapter of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was a member of the chancellor’s Advisory Council on Intercollegiate Athletics. Selected by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association for its “So You Want To Be A Coach” program, Mason has served as a coach for UNCG’s club women’s basketball team for the last two years and as a coach for the Sapphire Track Club. Mason intends to pursue a graduate degree in sports administration with the goal of becoming an athletic director.

Zach Hughes, Samford – Bob McCloskey Insurance Graduate Scholar
Samford men’s golfer Zach Hughes has earned one of two Bob McCloskey Insurance Graduate Scholarships. Hughes is in the midst of a career year as a redshirt senior, as he ranks fifth in the SoCon with a career-best 72.96 stroke average. He has posted three top-10 finishes this academic year, highlighted by tying for third place at the spring-opening Folino Classic in California, where he helped the Bulldogs to their first tournament win since 2012. An exercise science major with a 3.77 GPA, Hughes is a winner of Samford’s John Howard Academic Award and was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society. Hughes, who intends to become a physician assistant, has logged hundreds of volunteer hours in that pursuit, spending 130 with the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center and 120 with the Surgical Dermatology Group as well as working with The Lakeshore Foundation, helping adults and children with physical disabilities, and Saad Healthcare Services, Inc., at a nursing home physical therapy unit. Hughes has also served as the Samford men’s golf team’s representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Hughes will enroll in graduate school in fall 2017 after taking a year to earn more experience hours, starting with working as an emergency room technician this summer.

Natalie Shiver, Mercer – Bob McCloskey Insurance Graduate Scholar
Mercer softball player Natalie Shiver is one of two recipients of a Bob McCloskey Insurance Graduate Scholarship. A four-year starter at catcher, Shiver ranks in the top 10 in the SoCon in RBIs, walks and putouts this season and was a two-time SoCon player of the week in 2015, the Bears’ first year in the league. A double-major in finance and sports business management, Shiver has put together a 3.98 cumulative GPA. The three-time National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Scholar Athlete was a second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2015, becoming the first softball player in school history to earn that distinction. Shiver has also been active in her community, serving as a volunteer softball coach at her high school for two years and working with Jay’s Hope Foundation, helping children with cancer and their families. The team captain also helped clean up neighborhoods in Macon, Ga., as part of the Be a Good NeighBear initiative and served as a social media volunteer for the USTA for its Pro Circuit Tennis Classic of Macon. Shiver will pursue a Master’s of Business Administration and hopes to one day work in the Atlanta Braves’ front office.

Katherine Whisenhunt, Wofford – William Moore Graduate Scholar presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith
Wofford women’s soccer player Katherine Whisenhunt is the 2016 recipient of the William Moore Graduate Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith. A three-year starter on defense, Whisenhunt was part of a 2013 Terrier back line that helped Wofford lead the league with a 0.59 goals-against average and reach the SoCon Championship semifinals for the first time since 2002. Whisenhunt, a team captain, carries a 3.95 GPA and is majoring in government. The aspiring lawyer is president of Wofford’s E.K. Hardin Pre-Law Society and has served as an officer for the Terriers’ Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and as an intern for Wofford’s compliance department. She was a student marshal at Wofford’s 2015 graduation and will be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in May. Whisenhunt has completed three internships in collecting varied legal experience, including participating in Wofford’s Capitol Hill Internship Program in Washington, D.C., as an intern under U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy. She also held a pair of disparate volunteer summer positions, working with Law-in-Action, a South Carolina nonprofit that assists low-income individuals, and with Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, a large, multi-state firm, dealing with corporate law. Whisenhunt intends to enroll in law school in fall 2017 after spending a year living and working in Washington to gain more experience in law and public policy.

Maggie Grisell, Furman – Mike Wood Graduate Scholar
Furman women’s soccer player Maggie Grisell has earned one of two 2016 Mike Wood Graduate Scholarships. A four-year letter-winner for the Paladins, Grisell became Furman’s starting goalkeeper early in 2015 after an injury to a teammate and fashioned one of the best seasons in school history. Grisell led the league with 10 shutouts as a senior, tying for eighth in a single season in SoCon history, and put together a 0.74 goals-against average in leading Furman to a runner-up regular-season finish and the SoCon tournament title. The SoCon women’s soccer athlete of the month for October finished her career sixth in SoCon history with a career with a 0.88 GAA. A computing and applied mathematics major with a 3.92 GPA, Grisell has earned myriad academic awards throughout her collegiate career, including membership in the Omicron Delta Kappa, Upsilon Pi Epsilon and Phi Eta Sigma honor societies, and is a four-year Palmetto Fellows Scholar. Grisell, who is president of Furman’s chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and is vice president of the Student Government Association, intends to become a dentist. She has participated in a pair of mission trips to Ecuador, serving with a group that opened a free dental clinic, and has logged hundreds of volunteer hours at Wood Creek Dental in Greenville, S.C., over the last two years. Grisell will attend Lake Erie College of Dental Medicine in Florida starting in July.

Maggie Cropp, Mercer – Mike Wood Graduate Scholar
Mercer women’s soccer player Maggie Cropp one of two recipients of a 2016 Mike Wood Graduate Scholarship. After two years in the SoCon, Cropp is departing as the league’s career leader in goals-against average with a 0.72 mark and led the league in the category both years. A two-time All-SoCon selection and the Most Outstanding Player of the 2014 SoCon Championship after leading the Bears to the tournament title, Cropp wrapped up her career with school records in GAA (0.82), shutouts (20) and wins (40). As a freshman in 2012, Cropp led NCAA Division I with a school-record 0.29 GAA and a .929 save percentage en route to second-team All-Atlantic Sun Conference honors. In the classroom, Cropp was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar-All Region selection in 2014 and earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2015. Cropp spent three weeks in the summer of 2015 in Kenya as part of a Mercer On Mission trip, helping provide improved drinking water and collecting date on the cleanliness of the water and on poverty index in a community in the West Pokot District. She also helped rebuild a suspension bridge over the Wei Wei River. The sociology major, who bears a 3.96 GPA, intends to go to law school.

ABOUT THE SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
The Southern Conference, in its 95th season of intercollegiate competition, is a national leader in emphasizing the development of the student-athlete and helping build lifelong leaders and role models. The conference has been on the forefront of innovation and originality in developing creative solutions to address issues facing intercollegiate athletics. From establishing the first conference basketball tournament (1921) to tackling the issues of freshman eligibility (1922) to developing women’s championships (1984) to becoming the first conference to install the 3-point goal in basketball (1980), the Southern Conference has been a pioneer. The Southern Conference is the nation’s fifth-oldest NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association.

The conference currently consists of 10 members in six states throughout the Southeast and sponsors 20 varsity sports and championships that produce participants for NCAA Division I Championships.

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