Laura Barito of Stevens Chosen Among Nine Finalists for NCAA Woman of the Year
The NCAA has selected nine outstanding women as finalists for the 2011 Woman of the Year award, which will be presented Oct. 16 in Indianapolis. Among the finalists is Laura Barito of Stevens Institute of Technology.
The nine finalists, along with the other honorees who made the Top 30, will be invited to Indianapolis for the Woman of the Year festivities. The award weekend will include a community service project that gives honorees the opportunity to interact with young girls in the city of Indianapolis and serve as role models for them. The NCAA will also host a reception in their honor.
A 22-time All-American in swimming and track, Barito is a national champion in swimming (50-yard freestyle) and track (400-meter hurdles) – Stevens’ first national championships. The eight-time Empire 8 record holder for numerous swimming events was named conference Athlete of the Week nine times during her career. Barito was the hurdle/sprint team captain for track, as well as nutrition representative and service leader for the track and swimming teams. Selected twice as Stevens Athlete of the Year, she was also the Empire 8 Swimmer of the Year.
Barito served on the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, volunteered as a server at a local homeless shelter and tutored underprivileged school children. At her church, she was a member of the worship band, a greeter and a member of the college ministry team.
The mathematics enthusiast appeared on the President’s List from 2007 to 2011 and was named a NCAA Scholar All-American from 2008 to 2011. CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine named Barito to the Academic All-America First Team and the Empire 8 named her a Senior Scholar winner. Barito, a Stevens Honors Scholar, was also a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society.
The NCAA’s Woman of the Year Award, now in its 21st year, honors female student-athletes who have distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in academic achievement, athletic excellence, community service and leadership. Every NCAA member institution is encouraged to honor its top graduating female student-athlete by submitting her name for consideration. Each conference assesses the eligibility of its members’ nominees and selects at least one student-athlete to represent the conference.
To be eligible for the award, a female student-athlete must have completed eligibility in her primary sport by the end of the 2011 spring season, graduated no later than the end of the summer 2011 term and achieved a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics selects the national winner from the nine finalists.