The Southern Conference Announces 2023-24 Graduate Scholars
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced its 10 postgraduate scholarship recipients for the 2023-24 academic year Tuesday.
This year’s honorees include: David Knight Scholarship recipient Madeline Koury (Mercer); Dave Hart Scholarship recipient Emil Westling (Furman); Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship recipients Eden Punch (Western Carolina) and Samuel Barrow (Mercer); Dorothy Hicks Scholarship recipient Chrissy Fleming (Furman); William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith recipient Callum Holland (Furman); and Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship recipients Savannah Baldwin (Western Carolina), Jeralynn Wells (Western Carolina), Lily Rathbun (Furman) and Lindsey Hollis (Wofford).
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 who intend to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional school. The student-athletes are evaluated on academics, athletics and community service.
Madeline Koury, Mercer – David Knight Scholarship
Mercer’s Madeline Koury is the recipient of the 2024 David Knight Scholarship. An attacker on Mercer’s women’s lacrosse team, Koury has enjoyed a decorated career for the Bears. A three-time second team all-conference (Big South) selection in 2021, when she was also named to the all-freshman team, 2023 and 2024, Koury was 6th in the conference in point and 3rd in assists last season when she also reached the 100-career point mark. This season she was named preseason offensive Player of the Year before leading her team to a Big South regular season and tournament victory while being ranked second in the conference in assists and goals per game. The Birchrunville, Pennsylvania, product has also excelled in the classroom, earning Dean’s List and Academic honor roll distinctions both semester of 2020, 2021, and 2022. In the fall she earned President’s List honors before being inducted into Beta Alpha Psi and being named to the Academic All-District team and academic honor roll. Koury has worked in her community thorough many outreach programs including Backpack Buddies, Food Banks, and Meal prep and delivery programs that provide food for children, the local community, and emergency responders. She is a team leader for her school’s anti sex trafficking organization, Traffick Jam, where she oversees inventory in the shops they host around campus where sales fund information workbooks taken into local schools to teach children the danger of trafficking. Additionally, she is the president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee at Mercer where she facilitates meeting, community service events, and social media activity for the organization. A Business Administration and Accounting major with minors in marketing and communication studies, Koury plans to return to Mercer and pursue a Master of Accountancy in the Fall.
Emil Westling, Furman – Dave Hart Scholarship
Furman men’s tennis player, Emil Westling is the 2024 recipient of the Dave Hart Scholarship. A four-year member of the team, Westling earned all-freshman team honors in 2021 and finished his career with a 17-10 singles record and 14-9 doubles record in the conference. An applied mathematics and computer science major, Westling has been a Dean’s list member every semester of his college career and an All-Academic Award recipient in 2021, 2022, and 2023. The Bjarred, Sweeden, native was named an ITA scholar athlete and SoCon Academic Honor roll member in 2021, 2022, and 2023. In 2022 Westling was named to the SoCon Spring Academic All-Conference Team and in 2023, earned a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team honor. He earned the Wylie Scholarship in Mathematics in 2022-23 and 2023-24, was inducted into the Upsilon Pi Epsilon honor society and the Pi Mu Epsilon Mathematics honor society in 2023 and in 2024, given the Furman Senior Academic Award. In the community, Westling volunteers with Valient Player, visiting children in hospitals around the Greenville area with his teammates. He has worked with the Furman athletic department for Rise Against Hunger, packing food for children in Africa as well as with Heller Service Corp, Furman’s student volunteer organization. Westling also volunteers in the Mathematics Resource Center, tutoring students in statistics and calculus classes for three to six hours a week. In the fall, he plans to start a master’s in business Analytics of Financial Engineering.
Eden Punch, Western Carolina – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
Western Carolina volleyball player, Eden Punch is one of two recipients of a Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship. Punch has been an integral part of Western Carolina’s team. Named Preseason All-Conference in 2023, she was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on August 29th and October 30. She is 10th in program history in total blocks at 289. She was one of five players to start all 28 games this year and logged 97 blocks and 129 kills through the course of the season. In the classroom, Punch is a Psychology Major with a minor in Business Law and has earned Chancellor’s and Dean’s list every semester at Western Carolina. She is a 2022 and 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team honoree, an Academic All-SoCon athlete (2021, 2022, 2023) and earned the SoCon Commissioners Medal three times (2020, 2021, 2022). The Burlington, Ontario, native volunteers as a Psychology Ambassador, chosen as one of seven students by faculty to represent the psychology department by fostering an inviting and informative atmosphere during an open house even where guidance and mentorship was offered to prospective students. She was the lead coordinator for all faculty interviews during that event. Punch plans to pursue a Juris Doctor degree in August.
Samuel Barrow, Mercer – Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship
Mercer men’s tennis player Samuel Barrow is one of two recipients of a Bob McCloskey Insurance Scholarship. A four-year ITA scholar, Barrow was named to College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team in 2023. The Neuroscience major, who is minoring in Chemistry, has made the Dean’s list every semester while at Mercer including a President’s list designation in the Spring and Fall of 2022 and the Fall of 2023. He was inducted in the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society in 2024. Barrow has spent time volunteering at the Beverly Knight Olson Children’s Hospital where he made toys and blankets for patients and their families. This summer he will travel with Mercer on Mission to Vietnam where he will be working with other students and Mercer faculty to fit amputees with prosthetic legs and hands. They will use universal socket technology that is low cost, light weight and durable. As this is his second trip he will be a mentor to other students. The Macon, Georgia, native plans to start medical school in the fall of 2025.
Chrissy Fleming, Furman – Dorothy Hicks Scholarship
Furman infielder Chrissy Fleming is the 2024 Dorothy Hicks Scholarship recipient. She has been a member of the Paladin softball team for four seasons, playing in the outfield and earned the a spot on the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. The Windermere, Florida, native is double major in Applied Mathematics and Physics. She was a Dean’s List honoree in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Those same years she earned the SoCon Commissioner’s Medal. In 2024 she was awarded the Senior Academic Award in Mathematics and Natural Sciences. In the community, Fleming works as a Miracle League Volunteer teaching children with disabilities how to play baseball while promoting having fun and enjoying outdoor activities. She also volunteers with her teammates with Valient Player, providing acts of service for sick and disabled children. She would visit with children, make blankets, bring Christmas presents, and make card for the children during the holidays. Fleming will begin an Aerospace Engineering program in the fall of 2024.
Callum Holland, Furman – William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith
Furman’s Callum Holland is the recipient of the 2024 William V. Moore Scholarship presented by McMillan Pazdan Smith. A five-year member of the Paladins’ men’s soccer team, the mid-fielder earned all SoCon Freshman team honors in 2019, All SoCon First team honors in 2020, and was named team captain for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Holland excels in the classroom as a Politics and International affairs major having earned SoCon Academic Honor Roll every year. He has also been named to the Dean’s List every semester while at Furman. In 2022 and 2023, Holland was a member of the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. The Surrey, England, native serves the Greenville community through Walk for Down-Syndrome, an Buddy Walk aiming to make the world a more inclusive and welcoming place. He also reads to children in local public schools with learning disabilities. Over the summer, Holland helped build homes in the Greenville area for new families and couples who cannot afford a place to live. In the fall, he plans to begin a International Affairs and Security graduate program.
Savannah Baldwin, Western Carolina – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Western Carolina’s Savannah Baldwin is a recipient of a 2024 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. The utility player has appeared in 168 games over her four-year career with the Catamounts. The Integrated Health Sciences and Psychology double major has appeared on the Chancellor and Dean’s lists every semester since stepping on campus. She has earned the SoCon Commissioners Medal every year, including twice being on the SoCon 4.0 GPA list (2021-22 and 2022-23). Baldwin has been on the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll the last three years and was included in the 2022 and 2023 spring Academic All-SoCon team. For the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, she was named a Easton/NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete. In the Fall of 202, Baldwin volunteered with Samaritan’s Purse and Operation Christmas Child to pack Christmas boxes for kids around the world. In the spring of 2022, she began working as a course tutor for chemistry, physics, philosophy and religion, and psychology classes before taking on an extra role as a skills consultant in the Writing and Learning Commons where she was promoted to lead tutor in the fall of 2022, then Mentor Tutor in the spring of 2023. This month Baldwin plans to begin a Doctorate of Physical Therapy and East Carolina University.
Jeralynn Wells, Western Carolina – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Western Carolina’s Jeralynn Wells is the recipient of a 2024 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. A member of Western Carolina’s softball team, Wells made 172 starts in the outfield in her four-year career. She was an All-Freshman team selection in 2021. A Nutriction and Dietetics major, Wells earned the SoCon Commissioners Medal in 2022-21 and 2022-23 as well as Dean’s list for the 2020-21 and 2022-23 school years. The Menifee, California, product volunteered on campus through the University Participant Program teaching other students about balanced eating as well as giving cooking and safety demonstrations. She also worked with the Jackson County Public Library making similar cooking demonstrations for kids. In the fall, Wells will begin a Cal Poly Pomona Master’s Program.
Lily Rathbun, Furman – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Furman’s Lily Rathbun is the recipient of a 2024 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. Rathbun is the goalie on the Furman women’s lacrosse team and is an accounting major with a minor in data analytics which earned her the Lawrence Kessler Award for Excellence in Accounting. She began her athletic career in 2021 at California before transferring to Furman in 2022. She has started 51 games in goal for the Paladins, accumulating 377 saves and picked up a school record 152 ground balls in her time at Furman. The Falls Church, Virginia, product volunteers with VITA a program that helps low income families and individuals file their tax return and helps them understand their 1040s and other credits they might receive. In the fall she will begin pursuing a master’s in accounting.
Lindsey Hollis, Wofford – Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship
Wofford’s Lindsey Hollis is the recipient of a 2024 Southern Conference Presidential Scholarship. A member of the Terriers’ women’s golf program, Hollis averaged 80.8 strokes per round this year. She was the runner-up at the Islander Classic and a contributing member to the 2022 SoCon runner-up team. A double major in accounting and finance with a minor in Mathematics, Hollis was a WGCA Academic All-American and SoCon academic honor roll member from 2019-2023. She was also named to the Dean’s List at Wofford the past four years and on the Academic All-Southern Conference team in 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. She also earned the SoCon Commissioner Medal in 2020-21. She is a Student Athlete Advisory Committee member, helping plan events on mental health. As part of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, she participated in wilderness clean ups and raised money for philanthropies. In the fall the Signal Mountain, Tennessee, product will begin a master’s in accounting at the University of South Carolina.