Woman of the Year | Division II Finalists

Lyndsay McBride, University of Indianapolis

Conference: Great Lakes Valley Conference
Major: Graphic Design
Sport: Golf

Excerpt from personal statement: “If you would have told me my freshman year that I would become a national champion and an All-American, start a non-profit organization or go to Africa, I would have laughed. I have learned how much you can accomplish just by taking all the little steps to get where you want to be, inch by inch.”

McBride is the co-founder of Inches International which is an effort to raise money for scholarships to support schools and hospitals in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The idea to create the nonprofit was conceived after McBride and a classmate traveled to Liberia to assist in the building of a school.

Chosen as the Freshman Art Student of the Year, McBride has used her artwork to raise $34,000 for the Elkhart Women's Care Center. McBride was selected to the GLVC Academic All-Conference Team, and to the

University of Indianapolis dean's list her freshman, sophomore, junior and senior years.

McBride, a recipient of the H. Merrill Underwood Art Department Scholarship, was 2009 NCAA Division II women‟s golf national champion and the 2010 GLVC Women's Golfer of the Year. She was a member of the campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, serving as the women‟s golf student-athlete representative.

Mary Slinger, Concordia University, St. Paul

Conference: Northern Sun Intercollegiate League
Major: Biology
Sport: Volleyball

Excerpt from personal statement: “Trust humanity—I believe trust to be the most important transferrable quality that I gained via sports. I leave many aspects of my life up to faith and believe to be better because of it.”

Slinger owns the title for the most all-time digs in Concordia's history, finishing her career with 2,349 digs. A member of the Concordia volleyball team that was NCAA Division II champion in 2007, 2008 and 2009, Slinger was a 2009 American Volleyball Coaches Association First Team All-American and voted NSIL Libero of the Year three times.

She participated in two service trips – one to Guatemala and the other to Nicaragua. Slinger was a member of the Tetra Delta Science Club for four years during which she served stints as vice president and president.

A recipient of an NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award, Slinger also received the Willis R. Kelly Scholar Athlete award which is provided to the NSIC top female student-athlete. A dean's list student, Slinger was a President's Scholarship recipient 2006-10 and a 2009 First Team Academic All-American.
 

Natalja Stanski, Grand Valley State University

Conference: Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 
Major: Biomedical Science
Sport: Soccer

Excerpt from personal statement: “Throughout my four years in college, I have been privileged enough to enjoy numerous experiences that have greatly shaped the person I am today. As an athlete in particular, I learned a lot about my ability to persevere, as my struggles with injuries allowed me to test the limits of my fortitude.”

A 2009 NCAA Elite 88 Award recipient, Stanski was a Metropolitan Hospital Child Life volunteer, tutored other student-athletes in math and science at the Student Support Center, was a member of Athetes Who Care, and was named to the Grand Valley State dean's list all four years.

Stanski received the GLIAC Commissioner's Award in 2008 and 2009 and was the Becky Wilson Award Winner for Academic Excellence (soccer) in 2008 and 2009. She was named 2009 ESPN the Magazine Scholar Athlete of the Year (First Team Academic All-American). In addition, Stanski was named to the 2007, 2008 and 2009 GLIAC All-Academic Team.

A defender and team captain, Stanski was a member of Grand Valley State's 2009 NCAA Division II national championship team.