May 3, 2001
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara women's soccer 2001 graduate Kathleen Celio was awarded a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship in honor of her accomplishments in academics and athletics, the NCAA announced recently.
Celio has already been accepted to the law schools at Boston College and Notre Dame and is deciding between the two programs. She plans to enroll in the Fall 2002 term with a concentration in public interest, and is deferring her admission for one year volunteer her time to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, an organization that "provides essential services to low-income people and those who live on the margins of our society". For the next year, Celio will serve as a Jail Program Coordinator for the Chicago Legal Advocacy to Incarcerated Mothers program. CLAIM provides free legal services and client education to women in Illinois prisons, Cook County Jail and work release centers. The organization also advises and educates mothers about the laws and their rights to avoid permanently losing their children.
A two-time West Coast Conference All-Academic team honoree, Celio scored at least 20 points in her final three seasons. She began her senior season last fall with a hat trick against Oregon and finished her career with the sixth-most Bronco goals scored, with 32.
"Kathleen is a very deserving recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate scholarship," head coach Jerry Smith said. "Her dedication, commitment, passion for learning, and excellence on the field and in the classroom are of the highest level. Santa Clara University and the women's soccer program are very proud of her. Kathleen will make the most of the opportunity and will go on to achieve greatness in her future endeavors."
The NCAA awards 174 postgraduate scholarships annually, 87 for men and 87 for women. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their last year of intercollegiate athletics competition.
The one-time grants of $5,000 each are awarded for fall sports, winter sports and spring sports. 58 scholarships are awarded for each category, 29 scholarships going to both men and women. A proportionate number of awards in each category are allocated for Divisions I, II and III, with the remaining at-large scholarships selected without division restriction. The scholarships are one-time, nonrenewable grants.