When the Illinois State volleyball team needs a lift, Redbird fans have traditionally become the extra player on the court for their team. During her first two seasons, thats the role Amber Rogers has filled as a player for the Redbirds--providing a lift off the bench when coach Sharon Dingmans team needs it. Thats one reason Rogers is the initial recipient of the Janyth Aellig Endowed Scholarship in Illinois State University Athletics--a scholarship named for a Redbird fan.
Rogers, a junior from Muskegon, Mich., has been an ignitor for her team. Her career-high 13 kills and .600 hitting percentage against Northern Illinois last season helped the Redbirds start a six-match winning streak, their longest of the season.
The education major also has the highest grade average on the team, earning AFNI Athletics Honor Roll recognition in all four of her completed semesters.
The Janyth Aellig Endowed Scholarship is named in honor of an avid fan of Redbird volleyball and womens basketball. Jan, and her husband, Fred, had several seasons where they attended every Redbird contest--home and away--in both sports. The Aelligs were an early part of what has become one of the greatest fan followings in college volleyball--Illinois State home attendance is among the nations top five over the past decade. When Jan died suddenly in 1997, Fred and a group of more than 50 friends and family members began the endowment. It will be awarded annually to a deserving volleyball or womens basketball student-athlete.
Rogers has played all three hitting positions for the Redbirds and, in 2003, will likely be returning to the middle because injuries have created a need for Dingmans squad.
She is willing to take on any role for the team and she is the hardest worker on her team, said Dingman. She brings so much energy to the floor. One of the things that makes her popular with the fans and with her teammates is that she gets as excited for her teammates as she does for herself. Plus, she is an excellent student. She is the kind of person who deserves an endowed scholarship.
Rogers is honored to be the first selected.
Our fans are so important to our program that I think it would be fitting that a scholarship would come from our fans, said Rogers. It shows how much they support us. I appreciate all they do for us. Its definitely an honor for me to be chosen.
The Janyth Aellig Endowed Scholarship is one of 12 endowed scholarships available to Illinois State student-athletes funded by private donors. Though not one of the six fully-funded endowed scholarships at Illinois State University, the Janyth Aellig Endowed Scholarship provides significant support.
For information about supporting this, or other Illinois State University endowments for student-athletes, call The Redbird Club office at (309) 438-3803.
