Rumsey Receives Prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
Elmira, NY -- Fourth-year Elmira College women's volleyball player
Taryn Rumsey '14 was selected as one of the 29 female fall student-athletes to receive the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Rumsey will receive a $7,500 scholarship to pursue postgraduate education.
"I am mind-blown as well as so incredibly honored to receive this scholarship" said Rumsey. "I was told when nominated that it would be a very slim chance for me to be selected. I can't believe out of all divisions in the country, I was chosen to receive this. I feel like my hard work in the classroom and on the court has finally paid off."
Throughout her time at Elmira, Rumsey has excelled on the court and in the classroom, accumulating a 3.92 grade point average as a Speech and Language Disabilities major. On the court, Rumsey led the Soaring Eagles to 101 wins during her four-year career, including four trips to the Empire 8 Tournament, two Empire 8 Tournament finals, four ECAC Tournament final appearances, and one ECAC Tournament title.
"I think I received the scholarship because I have had steady, consistent statistics in terms of my volleyball career" said Rumsey, who exits her Elmira career second in career aces (244), fourth in career kills (1,632), and fifth in career digs (1,332). "I have a lot of playing time to my name here at EC and that has enabled me to excel and put myself out there in the conference, region, and nation."
Rumsey has certainly excelled on the court, receiving numerous awards throughout her career. Along with multiple Empire 8 Conference awards, some of her more noteworthy awards during her career include two-time AVCA All-American Honorable Mention honors, AVCA New York All-Region accolades, a Capital One Academic All-District Team selection, and in 2010 she was selected as the AVCA New York Region Rookie of the Year.
"Additionally, my major has rigorous coursework involved as well as the need to attend grad school to be licensed. I was aware of this factor early on and I knew I had to achieve high academic standings in order to be considered successful in this area of study. Those two factors definitely contributed to the scholarship reception because they are straight facts and stats about me and what I have done. Though, I think what really pushed me through to be selected were the recommendation letters and information from the athletic department and professors."
Rumsey plans on attending graduate school in the fall, studying communication sciences and disorders. She has already been accepted into a handful of graduate schools.
About the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage postgraduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, as well as campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership, are evaluated. An equitable approach is employed in reviewing each applicant's nomination form to provide opportunity to all student-athlete nominees to receive the postgraduate award, regardless of sport, division, gender or race. In maintaining the highest broad-based standards in the selection process, the program aims to reward those individuals whose dedication and effort are reflective of those characteristics necessary to succeed and thrive through postgraduate study in an accredited graduate degree program.