Norfolk Reporter

Miranda Seacord (Cambridge, N.Y.) has been named a finalist for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Woman of the Year.

Seacord, who also was put forth as Dean's nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year (learn more HERE), joins six other finalists for the GNAC Woman of the Year award. They are Nora Newman of Elms College field hockey; Jillian Miele of Johnson & Wales University (RI) field hockey; Elise Stanbury of Lasell University indoor/outdoor track & field; Emily Fagundo of Regis College women's volleyball and women's indoor/outdoor track & field; Cassandra Stapelfeld of Saint Joseph's College of Maine women's basketball; and Alice Najimy of Simmons University women's cross country.

The GNAC winner will be on July 25. Each nominee must be a graduating female student-athlete, and the selection process is based upon service & leadership, academic achievement, athletics excellence, as well as a personal statement.

For full GNAC release click HERE

Seacord, a two-sport student-athlete, graduated from Dean with a 3.88 GPA in Sport Management, with an associate degree in Coaching and Recreation. Seacord, who was a soccer team captain, volunteered as a Little League Softball Coach, worked in the Dean athletic department in event management and was a member of SAAC. A 2022 All-GNAC Third Team Softball selection, Seacord hit .430 as a senior with a 1.048 OPS, registering 32 runs and going 34-of-35 on stolen base attempts. The 34 stolen bases are good for 16th most in all of Division III, while her 1.13 steals per game ranks sixth in the country. On the soccer field, her best season came as a sophomore in 2019, when she totaled nine goals and two assists en route to USCAA National All-Academic and Team MVP honors.

Personal Statement: "My experiences as a scholar, athlete and a leader at Dean have given me a different view on life. Being a student-athlete means I am either in class or at practice most of the time, but there is time to make great memories with your other classmates. Since Dean is small, I got to know almost all my classmates. It was great to know most of my classmates because then we could have study groups together. It was also great to have some teammates in class with me because I knew we were on the same schedule, so we could study or work on homework together. Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit and everyone had to go home not knowing when we will play together or even see each-other again, I realized how much I enjoyed being a student-athlete. Our teams did zoom class to try and stay in touch and be active, but it was not the same. We were allowed to come back to school in January 2021 and start to play sports again. Everyone seemed more passionate about the sport they were going to play. I was so excited to be back on the field even if it was only for 10 games.

Summer of 2021 I was named captain for the soccer team for my senior season. I was ready to lead my team to a great season because we did not play a game in over a year. I wanted to be the best leader I could be for my team. I also did an internship with my soccer coach during my senior season, so I was more involved with the team. In the fall of 2021, I was selected to be the softball representative for SAAC. I was honored to represent my team and help our committee plan events for the student-athletes.

Spring of 2022 was the start of my senior softball season. Everyone was ready to finally play a full season because many of us had not been able to because of the pandemic. Going through the 3- or 4-hour practices everyday between classes was always a challenge, but that is what you have to do to be a student-athlete. When I was not chosen to be a captain of my softball team, I was upset at first because I was always very involved with the team and have stuck through it through all the tough years, but then I realized I did not need the label as 'captain' to be a leader. I was still a leader throughout the whole season on and off the field and all the players looked up to me by the end of the year. At the end of the season, I was named most valuable player of the team. The only reason I was the most valuable player is because I worked hard every day for myself and my teammates."

Original source can be found here