AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen College women's basketball player Somara Colon (Bronx, N.Y./Mott Haven Village), who recently completed her senior season for the Wildcats, has been announced as the recipient of two postgraduate scholarships for minority students.  Colon, a future student in the State University of New York at Buffalo's (UB) Higher Education Administration graduate program, has received the Dean's Scholarship for Educational Diversity and Excellence from UB, as well as the NCAA Ethnic Minority Enhancement Program Postgraduate Scholarship for Careers in Athletics.  She is one of just 13 recipients nationwide of the latter which is awarded by the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee.

"Somara is one of the most driven student-athletes I have encountered while working in higher education and collegiate athletics, both in the classroom and on the court," said Bridget Niland, Daemen's director of athletics and and associate professor of Business Administration.  "She has shown an unparalleled level of initiative while here at Daemen, and I know she will make the most of both scholarships that have been afforded to her, and the opportunities that they will provide to her upon completion of graduate school.  Specific to the scholarship from the NCAA, we once again see a Daemen student-athlete taking advantage of an opportunity that was not available to them prior to our transition to NCAA Division II membership."

According to the description of the Dean's Scholarship for Educational Diversity and Excellence available on the UB Graduate School of Education (GSE) website, the intent of the award "is to improve educational diversity and excellence in GSE by recruiting, enrolling and retaining talented underrepresented minority students in higher education - in state or out-of-state - and talented international students, through partial tuition scholarship for selected studented newly admitted to doctoral and master's programs."  The scholarship is awarded in the amount of $5,000 per year.

In addition to her scholarship award, Colon will work as a graduate assistant for UB's Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), a collaboration between Buffalo Public Schools and Say Yes to Education which is designed to work with middle and high school students as they navigate the college selection process.

The NCAA Ethnic Minority Enhancement Program Postgraduate Scholarship for Careers in Athletics is a $7,500 nonrenewable award to be used in the 2016-17 academic year.  In addition to the scholarship amount, recipients are invited to attend the 2016 NCAA Career in Sports Forum (CSF) taking place at the NCAA national office in Indianapolis, Ind. from June 2-5.  The CSF is a four-day educational event which brings together 200 student-athletes to learn about careers in sports, with a primary focus on intercollegiate athletics.  The CSF is designed to assist student-athletes in charting their career in the business, giving them the opportunity to network and learn from current athletics professionals.

"It is truly an honor to receive both of these postgraduate scholarship opportunities, which will open so many doors for me," Colon said.  "I will now be able to afford graduate school to help pursue my dreams one day being a collegiate athletic director.  In addition, as one of just a few ethnic minorities to receive the scholarship from the NCAA, I will be able to attend the Career in Sports Forum in Indianapolis which will allow me to engage and network with student-athletes from around the country.  This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am grateful for being selected.  I would like to thank the entire Daemen College Athletics Department, and each of my professors who helped prepare me for this wonderful opportunity.  Without them, I woudn't have the knowledge or skills to pursue and receive these amazing scholarships."

Colon was a four-year member of the Daemen women's basketball team after earning a spot as a walk-on for the 2012-13 season.  Over the course of her career, she appeared in 90 games and averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.  This past season was her brightest, appearing in 26 games while making the first 17 starts of her career.  She established new career highs in points (7.2), rebounds (5.9) and minutes (21.5) per game, as well as field goal percentage (.457).

In the classroom, Colon holds a 3.46 grade-point-average.  She will graduate from Daemen this May with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Sport Management, and a minor in Entrepreneurship.