Kern Recipient of Wilma Rudolph Award
June 10, 2017 | Baseball
ORLANDO, Fla. - UCLA baseball's Nick Kern was named a recipient of the Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award by the National Association of Academic Advisors for Athletics (N4A). Kern and the other four winners were recognized today during the 2017 N4A Convention Awards Luncheon at the World Center Marriott Resort.
The N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award is intended to honor student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. The recipients may not be the best athletes or students, and therefore may not have been recognized by other organizations or awards. Nonetheless, they have persevered and made significant personal strides toward success.
Kern's painful but inspiring story began in 2015. Used to battling the opposition on the diamond, he unexpectedly found himself engaged in a battle with his own body. After experiencing severe, debilitating abdominal pain, Kern was rushed to the hospital. After visiting with multiple doctors, and undergoing a colonoscopy, Kern was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis, an autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own colon. After multiple trips to the emergency room, an allergic reaction, and an infection, the only solution for Kern's condition was surgery. There was hope that this would be the only surgery and that his condition would improve, so Kern returned to school and baseball. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case. Once again encountering incapacitating abdominal pain, he was again rushed to the hospital. This time, it was concluded that multiple surgeries would be necessary to try to control the disease, the most intense taking place on January 8, 2016. That day, fearful and uncertain about what would happen, Kern underwent two surgeries in 36 hours to build a "fake colon." He spent nearly 56 days in the hospital, but seven months later he returned to UCLA and carried on with his life.
Kern returned to play for the Bruins in 2017 and in his first at-bat back in two years hit a double against San Jose State. Kern also hit his first home run in three years against No. 1 Oregon State in the ninth inning to send the game to extra innings. Kern played in 20 games this season, making seven starts, and hit .219 with six RBIs and eight runs. Kern is also a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection who made 69 appearances on the mound and in the field during his time in Westwood. Kern graduated in the Spring with a degree in physiological science.
