An NCAA committee that oversees the Walter Byers Graduate Scholarship selected two former student-athletes — Villanova graduate Mackenzie Niness and Penn State graduate Gavin Turner — as recipients of the 2022 awards.
Niness earned her bachelor's degree in criminology and sociology in 2018 while competing in swimming at Villanova, and Turner earned his undergraduate degree in biological science and health professions in 2019 while competing in fencing at Penn State.
Niness, a 2019 U.S. State Department Fulbright Grant recipient who served as an English teaching assistant at ROC van Amsterdam, MBO College Centrum, which is a vocational school in Amsterdam, Netherlands, plans to work on a doctorate in criminology or sociology. Turner entered medical school in 2021 and is expected to graduate in 2025 or 2026.
Established in 1988, the Walter Byers Scholarship program each year awards $24,000 scholarships to one male and one female recipient. The scholarships can be renewed for a second year. Recipients chosen by the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship Committee are recognized as combining the best elements of mind and body to achieve national distinction for their achievements and to be future leaders in their chosen field of career service.
Mackenzie Niness
During her college swimming career, Niness earned several all-Big East Conference accolades while primarily competing in freestyle, butterfly, individual medley and medley relay events at Villanova.
She finished her undergraduate studies with a 3.92 grade-point average.
In her sophomore year, Niness worked as a volunteer tutor at Graterford State Correctional Institution. Later, she interned at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility. Niness became aware of this opportunity through an athletics department email.
These experiences shaped her career goal of reducing recidivism and improving the quality of life for incarcerated people through postsecondary correctional education.
"Working at George W. Hill furthered the humanization of justice-involved people for me and introduced me to working with incarcerated women for the first time, the fastest-growing population of incarcerated people in the United States," Niness wrote in her Byers Scholarship application essay. "These experiences gave me the names and faces to fight for and fostered in me a drive to make a difference."
Niness' experiences have let her see firsthand the transformative effect of education on incarcerated people, and she plans to be a part of the communities of citizens, academics and activists who facilitate effective college programming in prison.
Her career goal is to work at a university as a professor and prison education director. She wants to teach topics in sociology and criminology to college students, while also serving incarcerated populations.
Gavin Turner
During his four years on the Penn State fencing team, Turner posted 82 career victories while competing in sabre. He was also named an Academic All-Big Ten Conference honoree three times.
At Penn State, Turner's cumulative grade-point average was 3.95.
Turner became inspired to go to medical school after shadowing Penn State physicians and seeing how their care improved the lives of their patients. This, combined with his time as a student-athlete, taught him the value of connecting with those in the community where he lives.
Before he went to Penn State to compete in fencing, the sport was always an individual endeavor for Turner. The team aspect of collegiate fencing was a welcomed change.
"I was inspired by my teammates to improve how I connect with those in my community," Turner wrote in his Byers Scholarship application. "A close teammate from Mexico motivated and supported me while (I was) pursuing a minor in Spanish, enabling me to better connect with him and other teammates in their first language."
In his undergraduate days, Turner volunteered with registration at a Remote Area Medical free clinic. There, he was able to assist a Spanish-speaking family with paperwork in their preferred language and support them through the process. Through undergraduate research, he contributed to novel findings that advanced knowledge on photosynthetic bacteria.
Turner's professional goal is to become a leading primary care physician to promote health equity through compassionate care, community partnership and impactful research.
