March 20, 2013
THE FLATS –Georgia Tech women’s basketball student-athlete Shayla Bivins has been named one of 10 national female finalists for the 2013 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award presented by Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.
The 20 male and female finalists were chosen from over 500 student-athletes nominated for the award co-sponsored by the NCAA. The award was established to honor undergraduate students of color who exemplify the standards set by tennis great Arthur Ashe Jr.
The winners will be profiled in the April 11 edition of Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.
To be included, students have to compete in an intercollegiate sport, maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2, and be active on their campuses or in their communities.
Bivins has played in 41 career games for Georgia Tech and helped the Yellow Jackets to an 80-51 win over Kennesaw State with career-highs of 11 rebounds and six points. She made her first career start at No. 11 North Carolina earlier this year and hauled in six boards vs. the Tar Heels.
The Science, Technology and Culture major has made the Dean’s List in 10 straight semesters at Tech, was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in each of the last three years and is a member of the Delta Iota Epsilon Honor Society.
Bivins, a native of Jacksonville, Fla., is active in various activities off the court as well. She is the president of the Georgia Tech Student-Athlete Advisory Board, serves as the Student Government Association’s Athletic Association representative and is a member of the Georgia Tech Athletic Association Board of Trustees.
She has assisted with the annual Georgia Tech Athletic Association’s Michael Isenhour Toy Drive, the women’s basketball Jacket-to-Jacket reading program and the Atlanta area Girls On The Run program for four years.
The 10 female finalists are:
| Female Finalists | Sport | Institution |
| Jessica Harlee | Basketball | West Virginia University |
| Kastine Evans | Basketball | University of Kentucky |
| Kody Burke | Basketball | North Carolina State University |
| Monique Weathers | Basketball | Benedict College |
| Shalya Bivins | Basketball | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| TaKenya Nixon | Basketball | Eastern Illinois University |
| Michelle Ikoma | Gymnastics | University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill |
| Alexandra Couzo | Soccer | Felician College |
| Ifeatu Okafor | Track/Cross Country | Texas Tech University |
| Minami Yamamura | Gymnastics | University of California, Davis |
Fans are encouraged to follow Georgia Tech women’s basketball on Twitter and Instagram, @GTWBB, and like the Yellow Jackets on Facebook, GTWomensBasketball, for an inside look at the program.
–RamblinWreck.com–
