University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Patrick Woepse Wins Pac-12 Leadership Award
December 08, 2016 | Men's Water Polo
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.ย --ย The Pac-12 named Colorado graduate Clare Wise and UCLA senior Patrickย Woepse as this year's recipients of the Pac-12 Leadership Award, Commissioner Larry Scott announcedย today. The pair was selected via a vote by the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and willย each receive a $3,000 postgraduate scholarship.
The Pac-12 Leadership Award honors student-athletes who distinguish themselves as standout leaders onย their campuses, in their athletic departments, on their teams, and at the Conference level in the areas ofย student-athlete welfare and student-athlete voice. As members of the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Leadershipย Team (SALT), Wise and Woepse demonstrated a steadfast commitment to helping fellow student-athletesย and giving back to their communities.
"Clare and Patrick are incredible examples of the tremendous leadership we see in our Pac-12 student-athletes,"ย said Commissioner Scott. "Beyond their national championships and high-achievement in theย classroom, both have driven real reform on behalf of student-athletes and engaged on important issuesย nationally for their peers."
A native of Tustin, Calif., Woepse is a four-time letter winner in water polo for the Bruins and is a two-timeย national champion. He served on the Bruin Athletic Council for five years, including as its president duringย the 2015-16 school year. Woepse will graduate later this month and currently holds a 3.41 cumulativeย GPA in Geography / Environmental Studies. Like Wise, Woepse was a member of the inaugural Pac-12ย SALT group that was so pivotal in making the student-athlete voice heard at the highest level.
Co-captain of his water polo team, Woepse's leadership has extended beyond the pool. He was named aย recipient of the Bruin Leadership Award in May 2016 and serves his community through programs likeย Team Prime Time, Dribble for the Cure, and UCLA's student-athlete mentorship program. Woepse wasย also twice named to UCLA's All-Academic Team โ which honors student-athletes from each team whoย boast a team-high GPA โ and to the Mount Pacific Sports Federation's All-Academic team. After graduationย this month, Woepse plans to go to business school.
The Pac-12 Leadership Award is voted on by members of the Pac-12 SAAC and is a $3,000 postgraduateย scholarship designed to recognize leadership and service on student-athlete advisory committees at Pac-12 member institutions. Applicants were required to be in their final year of intercollegiate athletics eligibilityย during the 2015-16 academic year and/or on track to graduate in the 2016-17 academic year whenย nominated.
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