July 16, 2008
SAN BRUNO, Calif. - Women's soccer player Lauren Zuckerman of Gonzaga University and men's basketball player Mitchell Henke of Santa Clara University have been named the winners of the 2008 West Coast Conference Postgraduate Scholarships as announced by Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich.
For the fifth consecutive year, the WCC is providing one male and one female student-athlete with a scholarship to assist in their graduate school or professional school education. Candidates must own a minimum 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale, demonstrate a significant athletic contribution on the varsity athletic level in a WCC sponsored sport, and participate in a WCC sport for a minimum of two years. In addition, candidates must have a record of participating in campus or community activities, completed their athletic eligibility, and competed in intercollegiate athletics in the academic year in which they are nominated.
"The West Coast Conference is dedicated to supporting the postgraduate success of our remarkable student athletes," Zaninovich said. "We are pleased to honor Mitchell and Lauren as WCC Postgraduate Scholars, and wish them all the best in their future academic studies."
Zuckerman, who graduated from Gonzaga with a major in accounting and minor in mathematics, finished with a major GPA of 4.0 and an overall GPA of 3.92 to graduate Summa Cum Laude. She is already enrolled in the Gonzaga Graduate School of Business pursuing a Master's in Accounting, and plans to intern with one of the "Big Four" accounting firms before taking her CPA exam.
Zuckerman, a native of Lafayette, Calif., also succeeded on the field being named the team's Most Valuable Defensive Player in 2004, team MVP in 2006, and twice being named All-WCC Honorable Mention. Academically, Zuckerman was a four-time WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll member, four time Gonzaga University President's List member, four-time recipient of the Gonzaga Trustee Scholarship and winner of the 2008 Gonzaga Student-Athlete of the Year award. Zuckerman has also spent many hours in the community volunteering for the Spokanimal Humane Society, holding an annual Christmas Toys for Tots drive and volunteering at Habitat for Humanity.
"Lauren exemplifies the type of student-athlete we have at Gonzaga," said Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth. "She is a hard worker both on the field of competition and in the classroom, and has done an excellent job of juggling the time demands that come with being a student-athlete. Lauren is very deserving of the WCC Postgraduate Scholarship. We know she will be successful in her postgraduate and career endeavors."
Henke, a finance major, finished with a cumulative GPA of 3.76. He was also a two-time CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIII First Team selection, a three-time WCC All-Academic Team selection and a member of the 2008 Division I-AAA Scholar Athlete Team. Henke was a four-year member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and served as President his senior year. Henke's career aspiration is to be an investment banker on Wall Street, and he has already interned with Cargill and hopes to attend the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
On the court, Henke was a four-year letter-winner and three-year starter. He played and started in all 31 games as a senior and averaged 9.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Among his community service activities are organizing a Santa Clara Student-Athlete canned food and clothing drive, volunteering at the Courageous Kids event for the American Cancer Society, and organizing a trip to the Stanford Children's Hospital.
