ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Illinois State senior runner Paul Steeno was one of four Missouri Valley Conference student-athletes named a 2017 Missouri Valley Conference postgraduate scholarship winner, as announced by Commissioner Doug Elgin Friday.
The Missouri Valley Conference Faculty Athletics Representatives Committee voted to award postgraduate scholarships to the four student-athletes, due to their exemplary academic and athletic performances. Each will receive a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship from the Conference. Elena Danielson of Bradley (women's cross country), Kimberly Nebo of Southern Illinois (women's basketball), and Alex Jefferson of Missouri State (baseball) were the other recipients.
Steeno carries a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average while majoring in journalism at Illinois State and competing as a member of the cross country and track & field teams for ISU. He twice finished in the Top 8 in the mile run at the MVC Indoor Track & Field Championships (2015 and 2017).
The Wheaton, Illinois, native earned selection to the league's Academic Honor Roll in each of his four seasons, was a three-time Commissioner's Academic Excellence honoree and earned the MVC's President's Council Academic Excellence Award this spring. He achieved Dean's List status every semester at ISU and was also a member of the AFNI Athletic Honor Roll. Steeno was active in the ISU community as a volunteer with various service organizations, while serving as a sports reporter and sports writer for TV-10 and the Vidette, respectively. Steeno has been admitted to the DePaul University master's degree program in journalism.
To be eligible for consideration, recipients must have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.40, participated with distinction in a Missouri Valley Conference championship sport for at least two seasons at the nominating institution and must graduate from their institutions within 18 months following selection at the spring meetings of the Faculty Athletics Representative Committee.
Also, the recipients must be accepted for postgraduate studies at an institution of higher learning at the time of receipt of the scholarship. The recipients must also have completed eligibility for participation in intercollegiate athletics in the academic year in which nominated.
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