Diana Ramos of Arizona and Wesley John of Georgia each will receive a $10,000 Jim McKay Scholarship, awarded by the NCAA to college athletes who demonstrate achievement in sports communication or public relations or hope to contribute to the field.
Ramos, a high jumper on the Wildcats track and field team, graduated in December with a degree in journalism. John, a distance runner for the Georgia cross country and track and field teams, graduated in May with a degree in sports management.
The McKay Scholarship recognizes a student-athlete's outstanding academic achievements and potential to make major contributions to the sports communications industry. The scholarship was created in 2008 to honor pioneer sports journalist Jim McKay, and the recipients are selected by the NCAA Walter Byers Scholarship Committee.
Diana Ramos
Arizona's Diana Ramos was named an All-Academic Athlete in 2021 by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. (Photo courtesy of Arizona)
Ramos finished her undergraduate studies with a 3.92 grade-point average and was named an All-Academic Athlete in 2021 by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
In the 2022 Pac-12 Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, she finished fourth with a leap of 5 feet, 7.25 inches. In 2019, Ramos competed in the NCAA Division I West region preliminary rounds in the high jump.
Ramos, a native of Guatire in Miranda, Venezuela, has a long-term goal of one day working as a journalist covering the Olympics for NBC Sports. She hopes a step in the process will be earning a master's degree in Latin American studies at Arizona.
"My thesis will discuss how Latinx student-athletes contribute to intercollegiate athletics through their different intersectionalities," said Ramos, in her McKay Scholarship essay. "Representation truly matters, and even though sports are diverse, athletically, those holding the higher positions and the media coverage are not as diverse in terms of race, ethnicity and gender."
Wesley John
Wesley John, who was a cross country and track and field distance runner for Georgia, hopes to become a college cross country and track and field coach or work in operations for an athletics department. (Photo courtesy of Georgia)
John posted a 3.50 grade-point average, graduating with a degree in sports management in May. He earned several academic honors, including one from the University of Georgia Athletic Scholarship Endowment Program that is awarded to an athlete who demonstrates honorable performances on the playing field, in the classroom and among the community.
In the spring, John ran the fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase of his collegiate career (8:57.41) at the Raleigh Relays. In 2021, he was a team captain in cross country.
John is enrolled in graduate school at Georgia, where he plans to earn a master's degree in sports management. He also plans to remain competitive as a distance runner and hopes to qualify for the U.S. Olympic trials.
When his running days are over, John wants to be a college cross country and track and field coach or work in operations for an athletics department.
"I believe my purpose is to use my knowledge of the sport to give back to those who are to come by impacting their lives for the better," John said in his McKay Scholarship essay. "I believe my graduate studies in sports management will prepare me to be effective in operations, communications and management."
