Sarza named NEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Bryant University cross country/track and field senior Brittany Sarza (Uxbridge, Mass.) has been named one of five Northeast Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Year, the league office announced on Monday.
Sarza, a four-year letterwinner in cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field, graduated in May with a perfect 4.0 GPA. She shares the honor with St. Francis Brooklyn's Dragana Dzigurski, Mount St. Mary's Haley Fournier and Saint Francis U's Sarah Ross. Saint Francis U's Washi Gervais was named the NEC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
For each of the past ten years, the NEC and its Faculty Athletic Representatives have bestowed the honor upon the male and female student-athletes who have exhausted their athletic eligibility, graduated and compiled the highest grade point average in the Conference at the conclusion of the academic calendar.
"Congratulations to our Scholar-Athlete of the Year winners on their amazing accomplishments in the classroom," said Noreen Morris, NEC Commissioner. "It takes an incredible amount of dedication and commitment to achieve a 4.0 or near 4.0 grade point average while competing at a high level. On behalf of the NEC Council of Presidents, we thank these five student-athletes for setting the bar so high and for representing the NEC with pride and dignity. I'm certain their tremendous success in college will now translate to their post graduation careers."
Sarza, an Actuarial Mathematics major who minored in Business Administration and Finance, was a 12-time member of the NEC Academic and Commissioner's Honor Roll. She was tabbed to the Bryant Dean's List eight times and to the President's list on seven occasions. Sarza was a member of the Honors Program and was a Master Peer Tutor during her time at Bryant.
A member of the Actuarial Association, she completed two actuarial internships during the summer of her sophomore and junior years with Voya Financial and Phoenix Life Insurance Company, respectively. Sarza is currently employed as an Actuarial Analyst at Lincoln Financial Group in Hartford.
Sarza finished 33rd at the NEC Cross Country Championship last fall and took ninth in the 1,500 meters at the NEC Outdoor Track and Field Championship this past spring.
"We are very proud of Brittany for being awarded this honor," said Mitch Switzer, Bryant cross country and track & field coach. "She is a shining example of a true student-athlete who was able to achieve success on the track and in the classroom. For all four years, Brittany balanced the demands of an honors student with the demands of being a Division I athlete, all while holding a 4.0 GPA. She made the most of her four years here at Bryant and is sure to be successful in the next chapter of her life."