The Horizon League has announced the male and female recipients of its Post-Graduate Scholarship Award, with Northern Kentucky University student-athletes claiming both.
Baseball student-athlete Cameron Ross was named the male recipient, while volleyball student-athlete Haley Libs was named the female recipient.
Ross is currently pursuing an M.S. in Business Informatics, in which he holds a 4.00 grade point average, and he also posted a 4.0 grade point average in every undergraduate semester at NKU, graduating summa cum laude from the Haile/US Bank College of Business with a B.S. in Business Administration. He was also a recipient of the Provost Award and was named to the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll in the spring and fall of 2018.
On the field, Ross has been one of the most utilized pitchers on the NKU staff, ranking third in the nation for pitching appearances in 2017 and leading the squad in innings pitched in 2018. This season, Ross has appeared in 19 games and holds the third-lowest ERA on the team.
In addition to his academic and athletic work, Ross has also been consistently involved with volunteer work, including the MLB Cincinnati Reds Urban Youth Academy, the NDSS Buddy Walk, visits to the Children’s Hospital and raising money for cancer research through a partnership with the VS Cancer Foundation.
NKU baseball player Cameron Ross (left) and Norse volleyball star Haley Libs (right) were named recipients of Horizon League Post-Graduate Scholarship Awards. (NKU photo)
“I am deeply honored and excited to be accepting this scholarship,” said Ross. “I think what the Horizon League is doing with this award is very important to promote furthering education for its student-athletes. It is tremendously helpful from a financial perspective, and I appreciate the recognition the league is giving me.”
Libs earned her undergraduate degree in exercise science, graduating summa cum laude with a 4.00 grade point average. She was named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team three times and also earned distinction on the Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District Team in 2017.
To cap off her undergraduate studies, Libs was involved in the research program within the Kinesiology and Health Department, publishing her first journal entry. She will continue her studies at Ohio State University after being accepted into Occupational Therapy Doctoral program, ranked No. 12 in the nation.
On the court, Libs has had the most illustrious NKU career at the Division I level. She was one of just three players in Horizon League history to be named to the All-Horizon League First Team in each of her four seasons and earned AVCA All-Northeast Region honorable mention in her senior campaign. Libs became NKU’s first Division I player to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career, and was just the third player in the NCAA to have a 30-kill/30-dig match in the current scoring era.
Last season, she was one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award, which recognizes senior student-athletes who excel in the four Cs of classroom, community, character and competition.
In the community, Libs has spent four years volunteering with Mathew 25 Ministries and has also served through work with the Special Olympics, athletic clinics, soup kitchens and Fish Fries. Of personal importance to her, Libs also delivers gifts to children hospitalized in the oncology wing of the same hospital that treated her for Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and joined Jim Kaufman’s Man of the Year campaign to support and help raise money for blood cancer research.
With regards to her leadership, Libs was a three-year captain of the volleyball team as voted upon by her teammates and was a Team IMPACT Advocate in her final season. Libs has also been commended by professors on her leadership abilities in the classroom.
“I felt extremely honored to be nominated by Northern Kentucky University to be considered for this award,” added Libs. “When I learned I had been granted the Post-Grad Scholarship, I couldn’t have been more thrilled. This scholarship will help tremendously in my next steps in becoming a Doctor of Occupational Therapy. It was extremely gratifying to know my hard work throughout my undergraduate education and athletics paid off, and humbling to realize that others recognized my dedication as well.”
To be eligible for the scholarship, student-athletes must meet criteria in four distinct categories – academics, athletics, service and leadership. The recipient must have an overall minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale or its equivalent, have competed with distinction as a member of a varsity sport, exhibited quality time working in the community/university in providing service to others, and demonstrated leadership qualities as a student at their institution and as a member of their intercollegiate program.
(From NKU Athletics Communications)
