Hawley Named MASCAC Scholar-Athlete
Top Conference Honor for Academic and Athletic Prowess

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Lycoming men’s swimming senior Steve Hawley (New Cumberland, Pa./New Cumberland) earned one of the top athletic and academic combination awards in the conference by being named a Middle Atlantic States Collegiate Athletic Corporation Scholar Athlete.

To be considered for such an honor, a conference athlete must be a senior standing and have participated in a 2005 fall sport.  Eligible athletes must carry at least a 3.2 grade point average, and will also receive recognition for excellent civic and co-curricular involvement.  The award is evenly based on athletic prowess and academic record and is presented to one senior athlete per sport throughout the conference.

Hawley is a five-time individual event Middle Atlantic Conference champion, having captured the 50-yard freestyle title each of the last three seasons and the 100-yard backstroke title in 2003-04 and 2004-05.  His time of 21.17 seconds in the 50-yard freestyle at the 2004-05 MAC Championships is currently the MAC meet record.  Hawley holds five Lycoming College school records including the 100-yard backstroke (52.76 seconds) and four other marks as a member of the 200-yard medley relay, 200-yard freestyle relay, 400-yard medley relay, and the 400-yard freestyle relay teams.  He also previously held the school 50-yard freestyle record.  Hawley is a two-time NCAA National Qualifier and three time team MVP.

The Trinity H.S. graduate has been a mainstay on the Lycoming College Dean’s List, putting his name amongst the College’s best each semester he has called Williamsport home.  He is a member of the Beta Beta Beta Biology Honor Society, the Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honor Society, and the Phi Sigma Iota International Foreign Language Honor Society.  A member of the National Dean’s List, Hawley was honored by Phi Kappa Phi for achieving a 4.0 grade point average in at least one semester.  Hawley was recognized by the College Swimming Coaches Association of America with an Academic All-American award in 2005, and has also been a member of the MASCAC Honor Roll for the past three years.

Hawley was one of 38 students nation-wide, and the only recipient from a Pennsylvania College or University, to win a $1,000 Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society study abroad grant.  He spent four weeks in Ecuador this summer, taking Spanish language classes and doing volunteer work at a hospital in the city of Cuenca.

He has taken advantage of several internship opportunities including the Temple University Podiatry Internship Program and the Ohio College Podiatric Medicine Intern program, as well as shadowing experience at five other Podiatry offices.  He has accepted a Presidential Scholarship from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine to continue his education.  The Presidential Scholarship is the highest award the school offers.

In April 2005, Hawley was honored with the IRUSKA Honor Society Award given for outstanding contributions to campus life in one or more student activities.  Hawley’s volunteer experiences include time spent at a Muscular Dystrophy Support Group, as a Hand-In-Hand Booth Coordinator for the Special Olympics, and over 150 hours of service at Harrisburg Hospital.  Each of the past three summers, he has spent 20 hours per month volunteering for a local hometown doctor of podiatric medicine.

Hawley is a two-time nominee for the Lycoming Leader of Campus Award.  He has been a captain for the swimming team, as well as President of the Pre-Health Society (2002-2006), Secretary of Tri-Beta (2005-2006), a student-leader at Freshman Orientation (2003-2005), and the Leader of College Ushers at the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport (2002-2005).

Hawley is a mentor in the Lycoming Peer Athlete Leaders program (PAL).  The purpose of the program is to help new freshman student-athletes, and those others pointed out by coaches, to cope with the academic and social rigors that accompany the beginning of college life.  Hawley was selected as a mentor for not only meeting the academic criteria, but for his commitment to positive citizenship towards the Lycoming College community.