Avery Lowe ‘19 has been chosen as the 26th Hope College recipient of an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
The former Flying Dutch cross country and track field runner plans to use her one-time, non-renewable scholarship of $10,000 toward pursuing her master’s in museum studies.
The NCAA awards up to 126 postgraduate scholarships annually. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are at least in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition.
“It means everything to me,” Lowe said. “I wasn’t going to pursue graduate school without the help of this scholarship, at least for a while. This speeds up my plans. I cried when I saw that I got it. I was so excited.”
Hope’s NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients
Lowe, a native of North Muskegon, majored in history at Hope and made the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Honor Roll four times.
While running for the Flying Dutch, Lowe earned All-MIAA honors in indoor track and field (2017 and 2018) and cross country (2015 and 2016). She also was a member of six Hope MIAA championship teams: four in cross country (2015-18) and two from indoor and outdoor seasons in 2018.
Lowe also competed in four NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship races, including a ninth-place team finish in 2016.
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships are awarded three times a year corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter and spring). Each sports season there are 21 scholarships available for men and 21 scholarships available for women for use in an accredited graduate program.
“We are so proud of Avery and her earning of the postgraduate scholarship,” said Tim Schoonveld, Director of Athletics. “She is the epitome of our pillars of academic success, competitive excellence and a transformed life. We look forward to watching where God takes her in the future.”
Mark Northuis is proud of Lowe as well. He worked with her as the head cross country coach and as an assistant track and field coach with a focus on distance runners.
“This award recognizes Avery’s accomplishments as a scholar-athlete and will allow her to continue investigating two of her passions — history and art,” Northuis said. “We are truly excited to see where God takes her in this pursuit.