MSOE's Cayo Named NAC Woman Of The Year
| Published: 06/15/2012 |
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From Northern Athletic Conference Press Release
Milwaukee School of Engineering's Carol Cayo has been selected as the Northern Athletics Conference Woman of the Year for the 2011-12 academic year, as chosen by the league's Senior Woman Administrators' Standing Committee.
In an excerpt from her personal statement from the award nomination, Cayo states, "Today I am a confident, compassionate person, shaped by my success as a student, athlete and community volunteer. Athletics, taught me that I can work with others to achieve common success. As a student-athlete at MSOE, I know that I can meet rigorous mental challenges yet, attain high goals. My compassion for others has grown through giving back to my community."
Cayo, a three-sport student-athlete for the Raiders' basketball, tennis and outdoor track & field teams, attended Lake Mills High School and graduated from MSOE this spring with a degree in industrial engineering with a 3.98 GPA. She was a two-time selection on the Capital One Academic All-America Team selected by CoSIDA, and led the women's basketball 2012 Fist Team as the Division III Academic All-American of the Year. Additionally, Cayo was a three-time Capital One Academic All-District selection and a four-time NAC Scholar-Athlete.
She earned All-NAC First Team honors in women's tennis this season as the Raiders' No. 1 singles and doubles player, and received an All-NAC honor all four seasons in basketball including three-straight First Team honors. She was named NAC Freshman of the Year in her rookie campaign, and was named both the NAC Women's Basketball Player and Defensive Player of the Year this past season, when she became the league's all-time leader with 1,141 career rebounds.
In addition to being named a WBCA All-American honorable mention this season, Cayo was a finalist (final 10) for the prestigious Jostens Trophy, an award that honors the most outstanding women's and men's Division III basketball players of the year.
"Carol is very deserving of this award," MSOE head women's basketball coach and SWA Jessica Ott commented. "She has really exemplified the Division III philosophy with her commitment and success in academics, athletics and all her service projects she has done at MSOE. Carol truly is a student-athlete."
At MSOE's spring commencement, Cayo was honored with the Alumni Association Award for Student Achievement as a leader in community, and received the Fred F. Loock Outstanding Student Award -- presented annually to the MSOE student who combines an excellent academic record and has demonstrated leadership and professional bearing in extracurricular or community service activities. It is the most prestigious student testimonial MSOE bestows.
In the community, Cayo volunteers at the St. John's Cathedral Soup Kitchen, Samn's Hope Book Drive, Our Next Generation program, and is a peer tutor in the MSOE Learning Resource Center.
"Carol's accomplishments and honors at MSOE have been extraordinary," MSOE Director of Athletics Dan Harris said. "She has represented us with excellence, honor, dignity and intellect. We have been blessed to have her as an MSOE student-athlete."
Each of the NAC's 13 members may nominate one female student-athlete for the annual award. The SWASC uses a combination of the following criteria in selection of the award: athletic excellence, academic achievement, service and leadership, and personal statement. The NAC Woman of the Year represents the conference in the NCAA Woman of the Year selection process.
