7/24/2019
National College Athlete Honor Society announces inaugural Scholar Athlete of the Year recipients
RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The National College Athlete Honor Society (NCAHS) is proud to announce that Aliyah Gustafson of Bowling Green State University and Cole Rosenberger of Johns Hopkins University have been named Chi Alpha Sigma’s first-ever National Scholar Athletes of the Year.
The National Scholar Athlete of the Year award recognizes one male and one female student-athlete who have each demonstrated academic and athletic achievement, as well as service and leadership both on-campus and in the community. Nominees must be junior or senior Chi Alpha Sigma inductees who have maintained a minimum of a 3.40 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) throughout their collegiate careers and
demonstrated how their experiences as scholar-athletes have influenced and empowered them to be successful after graduation.
Gustafson (R-Sr. | Iowa City, Iowa) completed an incredible throwing career at Bowling Green State University in June as a six-time Mid-American Conference champion, one-time First Team All-American, and three-time Second Team All-American while competing in the hammer throw, shot put, and discus as a four-year captain on the Falcons track and field team. A three-time recipient of the MAC Outstanding Field Performer award, Gustafson holds BGSU records for both the indoor and outdoor shot put, as well as the weight throw.
Gustafson was just as impressive in the classroom, earning USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and Academic All-MAC distinction four times apiece, thanks to a 3.931 GPA while majoring in Exercise Science and Coaching. A four-time MAC Distinguished Scholar-Athlete and the 2016 MAC Commissioner’s Award recipient, Gustafson has also become a leader in the community, volunteering for Special Olympics of Northwest Ohio, as well as with Girls on the Run, an organization that inspires young women to be joyful, healthy, and confident through running.
Rosenberger (Sr. | Indiana, Pa.) wrapped up his soccer career at Johns Hopkins University last fall as a United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-America selection in addition to being a two-time All-Centennial Conference pick. A starter in all 78 games of his collegiate career, Rosenberger helped anchor a defensive unit that held opponents scoreless in 41 of those contests, while scoring six goals and assisting on seven more during his playing career.
Academically, Rosenberger boasts a 3.95 cumulative GPA while majoring in environmental engineering and minoring in applied mathematics. His excellence in the classroom earned him First Team United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America and First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades in 2018. The Centennial Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year each of the last two seasons, Rosenberger has put his academic expertise to work, captaining a Senior Design Team project in partnership with the U.S. Army Base at Fort Meade. He has spent the last two summers interning with energy-related enterprises, first as an undergraduate researcher with WINDINSPIRE in Madrid, Spain in 2017 before returning stateside as an intern for the Curve Government Risk team at Exelon in Baltimore, Md. On campus, Rosenberger was also a lead tutor for peers in Calculus I and II through PILOT Tutoring and has assisted in tutoring efforts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Student Success since 2017.
Nominations for the 2019-20 NCAHS Scholar Athlete of the Year will become available to Chi Alpha Sigma chapters in May 2020.
The National College Athlete Honor Society, Inc., known as Chi Alpha Sigma, is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded in 1996. Chi Alpha Sigma works with state chapters to recognize college student-athletes who succeed in their sport and in the classroom.