University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Zappia, Williams Earn Pac-12 Postgrad Scholarships
July 27, 2018 | Men's Volleyball, Women's Basketball, Bruin Athletics
Recent UCLA graduates John Zappia (men's volleyball) and Dominique Williams (women's basketball) have been awarded Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarships.
Each of the Pac-12's 24 postgraduate scholarships are worth $9,000 and go to student-athletes with a minimum 3.0 grade point average who have also demonstrated a commitment to continuing education, campus and community involvement, and leadership.
Zappia played on the UCLA men's volleyball team from 2013-16 and was a member of the Bruins' 2016 squad that advanced to the NCAA semifinals. He hit .562 for the Bruins and made three starts that year. In 2015, he registered a career-best 11 kills in a match against St. Francis. A seven-time member of the UCLA Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Zappia graduated in 2016 with a degree in political science and is attending law school at the University of Texas.
Williams played in 81 games for the UCLA women's basketball team from 2013-17, making 18 starts before an injury forced her into medically retiring from the sport. She spent the 2017-18 season as an undergraduate coach, helping UCLA reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1999 and the Sweet Sixteen for the third-straight year. Williams is planning on continuing her education at Loyola Marymount to attain a master's degree in counseling with a specialization in community mental health. While at LMU, she will serve as a graduate assistant coach for the Lions' women's basketball team.
To be selected for a Pac-12 Postgraduate Scholarship, a student-athlete must have:
- Maintained an overall undergraduate minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00 (based on a 4.00 scale)
- Completed his/her final season of intercollegiate athletics eligibility in all sports or be in his/her final year of undergraduate study, having exhausted athletics eligibility in all sports
- Been accepted to or already be enrolled as a full-time student in a graduate or professional program at an accredited institution, or in a postgraduate program for which an undergraduate degree is required for admission
- Performed with distinction as a member of a varsity team
- Exemplified behavior, both in competition and beyond, in a manner that has brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution, and intercollegiate athletics.
Student-athletes awarded this scholarship plan to pursue postgraduate education in best-in-class graduate programs at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world, including several Pac-12 universities. They will study everything from medicine and law to business, dentistry, education, and more.
In 1999, the Postgraduate Scholarship Program was created to both honor and financially assist some of the Conference's most outstanding athletes and scholars as they continue their educations and prepare for careers in their chosen industries. The Pac-12 annually awards up to 24 scholarships of $9,000 each to former and graduating student-athletes across the conference. Through its institutional selection process, each Pac-12 institution may select two student-athletes to be awarded the scholarship.
For the full list of winners, click here.
