The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee recently awarded $10,000 scholarships to 42 spring sport student-athletes (21 men and 21 women) across all divisions and Lake Forest College softball player Shaye Gauthier was one of the recipients.
Those eligible for the scholarship are student-athletes at an active NCAA member institution who:
- Must be in final season of NCAA athletics eligibility or must have completed athletic eligibility,
- Must be in final year of undergraduate academic work or received an undergraduate degree.
- Have an overall undergraduate minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.200 (based on a 4.000 scale) or its equivalent, including all undergraduate hours earned at all undergraduate institutions attended. The grade-point average may not include any graduate-level hours.
- Have performed with distinction as a varsity team member in the sport in which the student-athlete is being nominated. The degree of the student-athlete's athletics achievement will be weighed in conjunction with academic performance, institutional involvement and volunteer community service. In particular, nominators and individuals submitting recommendations should note participation in activities in which the student-athlete serves as an example to other students and demonstrates leadership qualities.
- Must enroll in a graduate degree granting program on a part- or full-time basis at an academically accredited graduate or degree-granting professional school.
- Must be enrolled in a graduate degree granting program within one-year after the academic year the scholarship was awarded. All funds must be used within the same academic year.
- The scholarship cannot be used to fund any undergraduate work.
- Are outstanding citizens and excellent role models for the institution and intercollegiate athletics as a whole.
Gauthier graduated in May with degrees in finance and Spanish and a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average. She is currently looking at various graduate schools in the Chicago area.
A second baseman and pitcher during her collegiate career, Gauthier earned Second Team All-Midwest Conference honors as a freshman and sophomore and was named All-MWC North Division this spring. She batted .361 with five home runs and 63 runs batted in while going 18-7 with a 2.88 earned run average over the last four seasons. Lake Forest captured back-to-back conference titles in 2018 and 2019 and Gauthier's two-out, two-run walkoff homer in the 2019 MWC Tournament championship game sent the Foresters to the NCAA Division III Tourney, where she earned All-Tournament honors.
Equally successful in the classroom, Gauthier was a four-time Acacemic All-MWC honoree and the MWC Elite 20 Award winner in 2019 and 2021 for owning the highest cumulative GPA of any player at the conference tournament. She was also named First Team Academic All-District® by the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2020.
In addition to playing softball, Gauthier was a member of the Investment Club, Finance Club, and Athletic Council. As a teaching assistant in the SMiLE Program during a semester abroad in Spain, she designed lessons and activities to teach local students about American culture and crucial English vocabulary. Her community service efforts also included participation in the Department of Athletics' Special Olympics and National Girls and Women in Sports Day events.
"I am so proud to see Shaye honored with the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship," began Lake Forest College Head Softball Coach Joe Kinsella. "During her time in 'The Forest' Shaye took advantage of great internships, faculty mentors, study abroad, and the lessons learned on the softball field. In all of these, she represented Lake Forest College Softball on and off the field as a champion."
