INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Senior defender Shim Eliya, a member of the Centenary College men’s soccer team, was awarded a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship it was announced by the NCAA earlier this year.
The NCAA awards up to 126 postgraduate scholarships annually, 63 for men and 63 for women. The scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who excel academically and athletically and who are in their final year of intercollegiate athletics competition. The one-time non-renewable scholarships of $10,000 each are awarded three times a year corresponding to each sport season (fall, winter, and spring). Each sports season, there are 21 scholarships available for men and 21 scholarships available for women for use in an accredited graduate program.
Eliya, a biology major, was a three-time SCAC Academic Honor Roll Honoree and graduated with a 3.65 cumulative GPA.
He was a team captain for the 2020-21 Gents soccer team that captured the program’s first ever SCAC Tournament title last spring en route to being earning All-Tournament Team honors. Off the field he was honored as an SCAC Character & Community award winner, was a member of the Centenary Multicultural Student Association and volunteered at the Fuller Center for Housing in northwest Louisiana.
The 2020-21 SCAC Man of the Year Finalist, Eliya is one of three SCAC student-athletes to earn an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship was created in 1964 to promote and encourage graduate education by rewarding the Association's most accomplished student-athletes through their participation in NCAA championship and/or emerging sports. Athletics and academic achievements, campus involvement, community service, volunteer activities and demonstrated leadership are evaluated. An equitable approach is employed in reviewing an applicant's nomination form to provide all student-athlete nominees an opportunity to receive the graduate award, regardless of sport, division, gender or race. In maintaining the highest broad-based standards in the selection process, the program aims to reward those individuals whose dedication and effort are reflective of those characteristics necessary to succeed and thrive through graduate study.
