Release from Kennesaw State Athletics:
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State midfielder Nicole Calder is one of 30 candidates for the 2014 women’s soccer Senior CLASS Award, it was announced on Tuesday (Sept. 2). The list is comprised of 30 NCAA Division I seniors who have notable achievements in four areas – community, classroom, character and competition.
“It is definitely a massive honor,” said Calder of being selected as one of the candidates. “Especially being an international and obviously not being fully aware before coming into the States about what this program was. I have heard from other people that it is a really big honor and I just want to thank Coach King for nominating me and my teammates for making it possible for me to lead by example and setting up the environment for that.”
“We are delighted for Nic and delighted for the program,” said head coach Rob King. “We have had a lot of very good leaders, a lot of very good senior leaders through the years, but to get some recognition for Nic and for our program in that regard is fantastic. She is a good choice, a very good choice.”
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award, tabbed as “the nation’s premier award for NCAA senior student-athletes,” focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
The Senior CLASS Award winner will then be announced during the 2014 Women’s College Cup® championships in December.
A member of the 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason All-Conference Team, Calder was named to the 2013 All-Atlantic Sun Conference Second-Team and has started 34 of a possible 39 matches at KSU prior to her senior season. In 2013, she ranked second on the team with seven points on two goals and three assists, with her three helpers ranking in a tie for second on the team. As a sophomore, Calder ranked fifth on the squad with six points on three goals, while posting five points as a freshman in 2011 on a goal and three assists. For her career, the Adelaide, Australia native owns 18 points on six goals and six assists. The versatile player sits fifth in the KSU record books with five game-winning goals during her three seasons as an Owl.
Calder, a psychology major in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, holds an overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.96 and will pursue a doctorate following graduation from Kennesaw State. She has earned multiple academic accolades and had one of her strongest years to date as a junior, posting a 4.0 GPA in her spring semester to earn KSU Presidential Scholar honors, while also being named to the KSU Dean’s List in the fall. Outside of the University, Calder has received honors from the Atlantic Sun Conference, including being named a 2013-14 A-Sun Presidential Scholar, A-Sun Conference Scholar and an A-Sun All-Academic Honoree. She is also a member of a team that has earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award for three consecutive years.
She has also been a leader on the team in community efforts, including just recently completing a voluntary internship with the Murphy Harpst Orphanage and Treatment Center, which is an independent not-for-profit organization committed to meeting the needs of abused and neglected young people through residential treatment, placements in specialized foster care, and community programs that serve at-risk children and their families.
The Sports Inquirer 
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