Last year's WNMU Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Honor Student-Athlete Carissa Schwalm (Las Cruces, NM, Mayfield High School) finishes her final year of competition with high recognition. Schwalm received the NCAA Division II Degree-Completion Award, only the second award ever given to a WNMU student-athlete. Last year men's golfer Scott Crichton received the award.

Schwalm will receive a scholarship from the NCAA in order to complete her degree in kinesiology. She needed to meet the following qualifications:

1. Applicant shall be a student-athlete who has exhausted athletics eligibility at an active NCAA Division II institution within the past calendar year.

2. Applicant shall not be participating in another intercollegiate sport during the period of the award.

3. Applicant shall be able to complete his or her first undergraduate degree within 10 semesters or 15 quarters of full-time collegiate attendance.

4. Applicant shall have received athletics-related financial aid from the NCAA Division II institution where he or she exhausted athletics eligibility.

5. Applicant shall be within 32 semester (48 quarter) hours of completion of his or her first undergraduate degree.

6. Applicant has a 2.50 minimum cumulative grade-point average.

7. Applicant shall not receive any athletics aid if awarded a Division II Degree-Completion Award.

8. Applicant shall use the award to complete the first undergraduate degree requirements from the Division II institution where the student-athlete exhausted his or her athletics eligibility.

The NCAA established the Division II Degree-Completion Award Program in 2001 to provide deserving student-athletes financial assistance for them to complete their first baccalaureate degree.

To date, over $2.8 million has been given to approximately 750 deserving student-athletes. Of those student-athletes who have received the award since its inception, 94 percent have earned their undergraduate degree using this program.