November 2, 1998

Rocky Mount, NC - North Carolina Wesleyan 1998 graduate Kim Olsen was awarded a $5000 post-graduate scholarship from the NCAA, one of 71 awarded to women students in the country who competed in Division I, II, and III sports in which the Association conducts championships other than women's basketball. The $5,000 scholarships are awarded to student-athletes who maintain at least a 3.000 cumulative grade-point average (4.000 scale) and perform with distinction in varsity competition.

Olsen plans to use the scholarship to attend medical or dental school starting in the fall of 1999. She resides with her father Robert W. Olsen, in Avon, Conn., and graduated from Avon High School.

Olsen is an outstanding student athlete who played in two sports while at NC Wesleyan. She was a four-year starter on the womens soccer team and a three-year starter on the softball team. Her senior year, Olsen captained both teams for NC Wesleyan College.

An extremely talented soccer player, she earned Team MVP, Dixie Conference Player of the Year honors, and first team All-Region and All-American. She played center midfield for three years and as goalkeeper for one. Her soccer statistics include 16 goals, 11 assists, and 43 points as a field player. As a goalkeeper, Olsen had 144 saves, with a save percentage of .941. She had nine goals scored against her and 11 shutouts. Her goals against average was 0.45. She played in 71 games. During the year she was goalkeeper her team won the soccer NCAA Final Four in San Diego, Calif., for the first time.

For her soccer playing, Olsen also made first team All-Dixie Conference NSCAA Scholar-Athlete, All-South second team, GTE Academic District III first team, Dixie Conference All-Academic Team (1994-97), and GTE Academic All-American second team.

On the softball team Olsen played shortstop. Her career statistics include a batting average of .350, 62 runs batted in, 20 doubles, 10 triples, 27 stolen bases, and a fielding average of .890. For softball she made second team All-Dixie Conference, Dixie Conference All-Academic Team, while her team won the Dixie Conference Champion, and reached the NCAA Tournament.

She was also NC Wesleyan College Female Athlete of the Year and NC Wesleyan College Female Student-Athlete of the Year. "What separates Kim from everyone else (besides her playing abilities) has been her mental toughness, courage, discipline, leadership, unselfishness, and humbleness," said her soccer coach, Rob Donnenwirth. "She demonstrates these character traits in everything she does whether on the soccer field or in the classroom."

Her major was biology with a minor in chemistry and she achieved a cumulative grade point average of 3.7. She was consistently on the Deans Honor List. Her adviser, Dr. Dale Therrien, the chairman of the division of mathematics and natural sciences, had this to say about her: "Ms. Olsen is, quite simply, the best learner and best student whom I have known during my 33-year academic career."

Olsen was also named to Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Fraternity (1996 and 1997), Phi Eta Sigma Honor Fraternity, Who's Who Among American Universities and Colleges, and a North Carolina Wesleyan Scholar Athlete (two years). She received the Outstanding Achievement in Biology Award. She was also a member of the student government (two years), a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (two years), a peer tutor, a member of the Future Physicians Organization, and a clinician and referee for the Special Olympics.

During her senior year at NC Wesleyan Olsens mother died after a two-month struggle in intensive care. During her mothers illness, Olsen said her resolve to become a physician was strengthened by the physicians and nurses she encountered who testified to the sense of accomplishment they found in practicing medicine. She is spending time with her father and volunteering at the University of Connecticut, Jack Dempsey Hospital for a year before entering graduate school.

The NCAA is a membership organization of colleges and universities that participate in intercollegiate athletics. The primary purpose of the Association is to maintain intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the educational body and the athlete as an integral part of the student body. Activities of the NCAA membership include formulating rules of play for NCAA sports, conducting national championships, adopting and enforcing standards of eligibility and studying all phases of intercollegiate athletics.

North Carolina Wesleyan is an independent, four-year liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The College offers bachelor's degrees in 22 majors to traditional-aged students on the Rocky Mount campus. NC Wesleyan also offers an adult degree program geared to working adults, with classes in Rocky Mount, and at additional teaching sites in Raleigh, Goldsboro, and Durham.

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