Graduated swimmers Kyle Owens and Stuart Ferguson were awarded the prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Friday, June 7.
The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship is awarded annually to 174 student athletes who have shown incredible dedication and effort in their respective sports and in the classroom.
For Owens and Ferguson, academic recognition is nothing new. Owens was named as a Capital One Academic All-American earlier in June while both have been present as members of the SEC Academic Honor Roll the last 3 years.
Owens, from Johnson City, Tenn., hopes to use the scholarship to aide him at Quillen College of Medicine.
"Being a top D-I athlete and graduating this past month, it's a testament to the support staff we have at Auburn in the pool and in the classroom," Owens said. "I think it's a great place to be, and I wouldn't have changed anything for the world."
Owens was impacted by his mother, Heather, who was diagnosed with breast cancer when he was 11. She beat the cancer, but it left a mark on Owens.
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy, but I knew I wanted to be a doctor, and I wanted to help people," Owens said.
His mother said Owens has always been a driven student athlete.
"It doesn't surprise me that he's accomplished all of this, but I'm in awe," Heather said. "It took a lot of people and a lot of effort on Kyle's part, but if anybody is able to do it, he is."
Ferguson, from Richmond, Va., said he is hoping to identify the post-graduate studies that interest him while enjoying the time off from the rigors of studying and training.
"My time at Auburn was great, but very busy," Ferguson said. "I learned a lot from swimming that I was able to apply in college, and I got a lot of one-on-one work so I wouldn't get behind while I was swimming."
Ferguson graduated with a degree in Philosophy and is currently in Montana working as a white-water rafting guide. He said his love for the outdoors and teaching has shaped his decisions in life.
"I want to be a teacher and would love to work with high school kids," Ferguson said. "It means a lot to get support from the NCAA, for them to recognize the hard work I've put in."
Both Owens and Ferguson said they are thankful for the opportunity to swim and get an education at Auburn, and both recognize with post-graduate plans, their swimming careers are coming to an end.
"I am 100 percent retired from swimming," Ferguson said. "I've got a lot out of swimming since I was 5 years old. I've learned a lot, met a lot of cool people, but I am done with that and I'm focusing on other parts of my life."
Owens recently submitted his retirement paperwork to the U.S. National Swim Team and has chosen to forego the World University Games in Russia in order to begin classes at Quillen in July.
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