American University Alumnae and Former Student-Athlete Christina Wright Earns John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Award

Dec. 17, 2007

WASHINGTON - Former American University track & field student-athlete and 2007 graduate Christina Wright has been selected as one of six winners nationwide for the eighth annual John McLendon Memorial Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Award, National Association of College Directors of Athletics officials announced Monday.

Wright, a four-year student-athlete at American in the shot put, received a Bachelor of Arts at AU in public communications with a minor in statistics. In 2007, she earned the Stafford H. Cassell Award for her service to the university and her academic achievements. She also won the AU Multicultural Affairs/International Student & Scholar Services Scholar-Athlete Award. Wright was named to the Patriot League Honor Roll three times during her career. Her research paper, "The Token Athlete: Sports and Performance Enhancing Drugs" was published by the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. During her junior year, Wright was a participant in the NCAA Division I Regional and National Leadership Conferences and the Patriot League Student-Athlete Advisory Committee conferences.

Winners receive a $10,000 grant to fund postgraduate studies in athletics administration. Funding is provided in part by the American Football Coaches Association, the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers, Major League Baseball, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, NACDA, the NBA, the National Collegiate Athletics Association and Sears, Roebuck and Company. Minorities who completed their undergraduate education with at least a 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale and have demonstrated leadership qualities on an institutional or community level are eligible for the awards.

Wright is presently working as an intern at the NCAA in the Diversity and Inclusion department. After her internship is finished in June, 2008, she plans on enrolling in graduate school at either the University of Vermont or Syracuse University.