George Washington University Athletics
Victoria Valos Named A-10 Postgraduate Scholarship Recipient
5/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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May 21, 2015
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Recent George Washington softball graduate Victoria Valos has been named a 2015 Atlantic 10 Postgraduate Scholarship winner, the conference announced on Thursday.
Valos is one of 14 honorees across the conference, 11 of which are female student-athletes, one from each member institution of the A-10. The other recipients include: Emily Rademacher of Davidson, Katherine Ollier of Dayton, Nicholas Disomma of Duquesne, Nicole Arrato of Fordham, Danielle O'Brien of George Mason, Maryam Huseini of La Salle, Rachel Hillard of Massachusetts, Catherine Steffen of Rhode Island, Amber Young of Richmond, Aaron Leskow of Saint Joseph's, Michael Scolarici of Saint Louis, Hannah Robinson of St. Bonaventure and Kiara Porter of VCU. The 14 awards are an increase from the 10 that were distributed in 2014 and will provide each student $5,000 toward continuing their education.
"We've had the opportunity to grow the postgraduate program a significant amount as part of the A-10's commitment to providing strong academic support for our student-athletes. Granting 14 scholarships for graduate education speaks volumes about the Atlantic 10 membership and its dedication to our student-athletes," said GW Director of Athletics and Recreation Patrick Nero, who serves as Chair of the A-10 Athletic Directors.
The scholarship award will contribute toward full-time enrollment in a graduate or professional program. Performance on the playing field, in the classroom and in the community were considered during the selection process.
A psychology major, Valos put together one of the most impressive careers in GW softball history and graduated last weekend as the program's all-time leader in career hits (206), runs scored (139), doubles (51), home runs (36), RBIs (170), extra-base hits (91), total bases (373), slugging percentage (.629), on-base percentage (.433), at-bats (593) and games started (199). Valos was selected to the A-10 All-Rookie Team in 2012 and All-Conference Second Team in 2014.
The Bakersfield, California, native earned a spot on the GW Athletics Department Dean's List in six of her eight semesters at GW and landed on the A-10 Commissioner's Honor Roll in the fall of 2014. The three-time team co-captain and MVP volunteered in the D.C. community often through many avenues, including Relay for Life and The Grassroot Project.
Valos will remain at GW to pursue her master's degree from the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences' organizational sciences program with a concentration in organizational management.
"These 14 outstanding student-athletes are well-deserving of one of the most prestigious awards in the Atlantic 10. They have been committed to being stellar academically and athletically, and I congratulate each of them and wish them luck as they pursue their advanced degrees," said A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. "I also commend our member institutions for their vision in expanding this worthwhile scholarship fund."
The Atlantic 10 was recently recognized as having the fifth-most athletic teams among 32 Division I conferences with 60 squads ranking in the top 10 percent of their respective sports in the Academic Progress Report (APR).
