08/18/2021
National College Athlete Honor Society announces Scholar Athletes of the Year
RIVER FALLS, Wis. -- The National College Athlete Honor Society is proud to announce that Kieran Mullins of Rutgers University and Emma Schulz of SUNY Cortland have been selected as Chi Alpha Sigma’s 2020-21 Scholar Athletes of the Year.
“It is with great pride that we present these awards to Kieran and Emma,” Kellen Wells-Mangold, executive director of the National College Athlete Honor Society, said. “Excelling as leaders in athletics, academics, and their communities, these two student-athletes truly exemplify the mission of Chi Alpha Sigma.”
The National Scholar Athlete of the Year award recognizes one male and one female student-athlete who have each demonstrated academic and athletic achievement, as well as service and leadership both on-
campus and in the community. Nominees must be junior or senior Chi Alpha Sigma inductees who have maintained a minimum of a 3.40 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) throughout their collegiate careers and demonstrated how their experiences as scholar-athletes have influenced and empowered them to be successful after graduation.
Mullins (R-Sr. | Islip, N.Y.) capped off his athletic career as an All-American and three-time captain for the Rutgers men’s lacrosse team. He maintained a 3.8 GPA while majoring in cell biology and neuroscience with minors in health & society and sociology. A four-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Mullins was also the recipient of the Wayne Duke Big Ten Postgraduate Scholarship earlier this year. He finished his playing career with 127 goals and 230 points, graduating among the top scorers in the 100-year history of the Rutgers men's lacrosse program.
Beyond his achievements as a student-athlete, Mullins is a patient transporter at Centrastate Healthcare System and a volunteer as a Crisis Text Line Counselor. He previously served as a mentor with Rutgers Educational & Athletic Developmental Initiative, Rutgers Athletics Department's RWJ Bristol-Myers Squibb Children's Hospital "Thanksgiving Day", and Rutgers Recreation "Special Friends Day". He plans to continue his education in medical school.
Schulz (Sr. | Poughquag, N.Y. | Arlington) completed her collegiate career as the Red Dragons’ first-ever three-time Academic All-American. A biology major with a minor in chemistry, Schulz graduated this past spring with a 4.02 cumulative grade point average (converted to 3.98 on a 4.0 scale). Schulz was the National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) floor exercise national champion and balance beam national runner-up in 2019. In 2020, she was chosen as the NCGA and the Women's Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) East Region Gymnast of the Year and was named an All-American by both organizations. She was ranked first nationally on both floor and beam before the regional and national postseason tournaments were canceled due to COVID-19. Schulz holds a share of Cortland's school records on both floor (9.90, accomplished twice) and beam (9.825).
In the community, Schulz has worked with the New York State Department of Health as a contact tracer, in addition to working at Cortland's on-campus testing site and at Guthrie Hospital in patient care for COVID-19 patients. Like Mullins, Schulz also plans to continue her education in medical school.
Chi Alpha Sigma’s National Scholar-Athlete of the Year award began during the 2018-19 academic year. Mullins and Schulz now become the fifth and sixth recipients of the award. Nominations for the 2021-22 Chi Alpha Sigma Scholar Athlete of the Year will become available to Chi Alpha Sigma chapters in May 2022.
All-Time National College Athlete Honor Society Scholar Athletes of the Year
Year Student-Athlete Institution Sport(s)
2018-19 Aliyah Gustafson Bowling Green State University Women’s Track and Field
2018-19 Cole Rosenberger Johns Hopkins University Men’s Soccer
2019-20 Audrey Miller Loras College Women’s Cross Country, Track and Field
2019-20 Andreas Vazaios North Carolina State University Men’s Swimming and Diving
2020-21 Kieran Mullins Rutgers University Men's Lacrosse
2020-21 Emma Schulz SUNY Cortland Women's Gymnastics
The National College Athlete Honor Society, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that was founded in 1996. Chi Alpha Sigma works with state chapters of four-year institutions to recognize college student-athletes who succeed in their sport and in the classroom.