Amy Massey of Southern California and Craig Sheedy of Arizona have been chosen as recipients of the annual Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarships.

Massey, a soccer student-athlete, and Sheedy, a swimming and diving student-athlete, were selected from among six finalists by the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship Committee.

The Byers Scholarships were established in 1988. The award recognizes the contributions of the former NCAA executive director and encourages academic achievement of student-athletes. Each award recipient will receive a $24,000 scholarship.

Recipients of the award must have a 3.5 grade-point average (4.0 scale), demonstrate evidence of superior character and leadership and show that participation in athletics has been a positive influence on their personal and intellectual development.

Massey

After beginning her college career at St. Mary’s (California), Massey transferred to Southern California. She helped the Trojans win the 2007 Women’s College Cup. Her junior year she was voted “Trojan of the Year” by fellow student-athletes, coaches and athletics staff for achievement in the classroom and on the playing field.

Massey started a recycling program within the athletics department to continue to spread awareness and raise money for Water Wells for Africa. While in high school, Massey traveled to Malawi with Water Wells for Africa on a humanitarian and missionary trip where she served in medical clinics and played soccer with the village children. Massey traveled to Malawi for a second time before her sophomore year, returning from the trip only weeks before training camp. Massey prepared for camp by running alongside the bus, as the missions team traveled between villages. Crowds of children joined her on her runs. The communications major was a Rhodes Scholarship finalist in 2008. She has been accepted at the University of Oxford, where she plans to pursue a master’s degree in forced migration and play for the Oxford Football Club. 

Sheedy

Sheedy, a diver, was a team co-captain at Arizona and a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He will graduate in May with a bachelor of science with honors in biochemistry and molecular biophysics, and a second major in physiology and a minor in Spanish.

Sheedy has contributed three years of biomedical research and is an officer in the biochemistry club, while also serving his department as an ambassador and peer tutor. He is active in the community, having been involved in service projects with the Boys/Girls Club and Grace Home, while also volunteering weekly at the Tucson Medical Center in the pediatrics unit. Sheedy was accepted at Vanderbilt, where he will pursue a doctorate of medicine beginning in August, aiming to specialize in pediatrics.