THE FLATS – For Georgia Tech student-athletes – women’s tennis’ Kylie Bilchev, football’s Henry Freer, baseball’s John Giesler and women’s tennis’ Kate Sharabura – have been honored as a part of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s postgraduate scholars program, the ACC announced on Thursday.
Freer and Sharabura have been selected for Weaver-James-Corrigan-Swofford postgraduate scholarships, which include $9,000 apiece for their postgraduate education. Freer is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in biomolecular and chemical engineering at Georgia Tech, while Sharabura plans to pursue a master’s degree in anesthesiology. Freer is believed to be the only student-athlete in Georgia Tech history to have been enrolled in a Ph.D. program as an active member of the football team.
Bilchev and Giesler received ACC Excellence Awards, which honor high-achieving students that plan to immediately pursue professional careers in their chosen sports or fields of study instead of postgraduate studies. Bilchev majors in biology, while Giesler earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is currently in Tech’s master’s program for real estate development.
To be eligible, nominees must have distinguished themselves both academically and athletically with an overall minimum accumulative grade point average of 3.0 or its equivalent. The student-athlete must have completed at least seven semesters and completed or will complete their baccalaureate degree at an ACC institution prior to receiving the postgraduate scholarship, and performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team specifically represented by local, conference, regional and/or national athletic recognition. The nominees also must have conducted themselves, both on and off the field, in a manner that has brought credit to themselves, their institution, intercollegiate athletics and the ideals and objectives of higher education.
The ACC has selected postgraduate scholarship recipients annually since 1971. Over that time, the conference has provided nearly $4.7 million to more than 1,000 student-athletes.
Full Steam Ahead
Full Steam Ahead is a $500 million fundraising initiative to achieve Georgia Tech athletics’ goal of competing for championships at the highest level in the next era of intercollegiate athletics. The initiative will fund transformative projects for Tech athletics, including renovations of Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field (the historic home of Georgia Tech football), the Zelnak Basketball Center (the practice and training facility for Tech basketball) and O’Keefe Gymnasium (the venerable home of Yellow Jackets volleyball), as well as additional projects and initiatives to further advance Georgia Tech athletics through program wide-operational support. All members of the Georgia Tech community are invited to visit atfund.org/FullSteamAhead for full details and renderings of the renovation projects, as well as to learn about opportunities to contribute online.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and at www.ramblinwreck.com.
