CLEVELAND -- The McLendon Foundation is proud to recognize the eight winners of its Postgraduate Scholarship Awards.

"On behalf of The McLendon Foundation and our Board, we are honored to continue the tradition of recognizing eight aspiring and passionate individuals as the 2022 Postgraduate Scholarship Recipients," said Andrea Williams, President of the McLendon Foundation and Chief Experience Officer of the NBA's Utah Jazz. "As a nonprofit committed to providing opportunities to minority individuals, the Foundation is enhancing the pipeline for future leaders across the country and continues to see both professional and personal growth and success among recent scholarship awardees."

The 2022 John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship recipients are:

Student	Undergraduate Institution	Undergraduate Major
Diana Camarillo	Concordia University Chicago	Political Science & Spanish
Sandra Kimokoti	Brown University	Biology
Makayla Marders-Nichols	University of Mount Olive	Business Administration Management
Maya Neal	University of Tennessee	Political Science
Taylor Redfearn	Winston-Salem State University	Sport Management
Zakary Smiley	University of Louisville	Sport Administration
Airiana Smith	University of Illinois at Springfield	Legal Studies
Damon Wright	Mississippi College	Communication (Sports Media)

Through the support of the Fiesta Bowl's endowment commitment to the Foundation, a McLendon Foundation Minority Postgraduate Scholarship is awarded each year to a student associated with an Arizona-based four-year institution. The McLendon Scholarship, presented by the Fiesta Bowl, is being awarded to Airiana Smith, who plans to pursue a graduate degree from Arizona State University.
 
"The McLendon Foundation Minority Postgraduate Scholarship is a very valuable resource to help talented individuals accelerate their journey toward a profession in college athletics," said Fiesta Bowl Board Chair Randal Norton. "We are excited to welcome to Airiana to Arizona and support her pursuit of a career in sports management."
 
In addition to the Fiesta Bowl, the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) has continued its sponsorship of two of the $10,000 scholarships. A portion of this contribution to the Foundation is in memory of Curtis Jones, former associate athletics director for academic support at West Virginia, who passed away suddenly in September 2013. Jones was a N4A Board Member at the time of his death.

The McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship winners will each receive a $10,000 grant to be used towards postgraduate studies in athletics administration. Funding for the scholarship program has been provided in part by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA); the Cleveland Cavaliers; Major League Baseball (MLB); the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC); the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA); the National Basketball Association (NBA); the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA); Capital One; and Sears, Roebuck and Co. As of the 2021-22 academic year, the John McLendon Minority Postgraduate Scholarship Program has awarded over 120 scholarships, totaling over $1.2 million.

Biographies on each of the winners and more information about the McLendon Scholarship Award can be found below.

Camarillo earned a bachelor's degree in political science and Spanish from Concordia University Chicago in May 2013. After receiving her undergraduate degree, Camarillo gained experience in the non-profit sector, including health, housing and education verticals. For three years she served as a high school public policy and Spanish educator in Chicago. She is currently working as a graduate assistant and director of sponsorship for the McCormack Sport Leaders Forum at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Isenberg School of Management, and is expected to graduate with a dual master of business administration and master of science in 2023.
 
Kimokoti completed a bachelor of arts degree in biology in 2015 from Brown University, where she was a recipient of the Derek Canfield Barker Prize for Leadership and Community Service. Starting as a junior, she played rugby for the Kenya National Women's Rugby Team. In December 2022, Kimokoti received a master's degree in sports business from New York University (NYU). Her professional goal is to launch a high-impact global career in the sports industry, to work with teams, leagues, and federations in Africa to improve financial sustainability by establishing viable operating models.
 
Marders-Nichols earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration management from the University of Mount Olive in May 2020, where she was a women's basketball student-athlete and a Conference Carolinas All-Academic honoree. She also served as a marketing intern in the Tillman School of Business during her time at Mount Olive. Marders-Nichols currently works as a graduate assistant in student-athlete development at the University of South Carolina Upstate. She is also pursuing a master of sport entertainment management degree from the University of South Carolina, expected to be completed in May 2023.
 
Neal received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Tennessee (UT) in May 2019, where she was captain of both the women's soccer and women's track and field teams. She was also a representative for her teams in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and served as Community Service Co-Chair within SAAC. During her undergraduate career, Neal gained experience working as a marketing and sponsorship intern with the Chicago Red Stars. She has played professional soccer overseas in France since December 2019, and plans to pursue a master's degree in sport business at Temple University.
 
Redfearn completed a bachelor's degree in sport management administration with a minor in deaf studies at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) in May 2021. While at WSSU, Redfearn served as a research assistant, a position in which she collected and analyzed data from surveys, focus groups, and health screenings to obtain information on chronic disease risk factors, fitness motivation, and fatigue through the Weight Matters Program at WSSU. She also gained experience as a sports intern at the BOND Center for Excellence and the CIAA Basketball Tournament. She is currently enrolled at UNC Greensboro and is pursuing a master's degree in community and therapeutic recreation management with an expected graduation date of May 2023.
 
Smiley earned a bachelor of science degree in sport administration and a minor in marketing from the University of Louisville in May 2022. During his time as an undergraduate, he worked as a youth development group leader at the Central Kentucky YMCA and the YMCA of Greater Louisville, assisting the site director in implementing developmentally appropriate curriculum that created a positive, nurturing environment. He also spent time interning with the University of Louisville athletics marketing department and the Bellarmine University basketball program. Smiley plans to pursue an advanced degree in sport business management at UCF.
 
Smith received a bachelor of arts degree in legal studies with a minor in criminal justice and African American studies from the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) in 2021, where she was a member of the women's basketball team. Since 2017, she has served as a U.S. Army Reserve Platoon Leader, honing transferrable critical thinking skills and making sound leadership decisions in high pressure environments. After her time at UIS, Smith worked as an athletics department internal operations and compliance intern at Saint Louis University. She plans to pursue a master's degree in sports law and business from The Allan "Bud" Selig Sports Law and Business program at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University with an anticipated graduation date of May 2024.
 
Wright graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor of science in communication (sports media) from Mississippi College (MC) in 2021, where he was a student-athlete on the football team and an all-conference performer on the men's track and field team. At MC, he was the first African American student in the history of the institution to be named vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA), a position he held for two terms. After graduation, Wright served as a development intern with USA Football (USAF), assisting the organization's Education Team with the preparation of various conferences curated for a variety of stakeholders. Wright is currently pursuing a master of science in sport management at Southern Methodist University (SMU) where he serves as the athletics department's marketing intern, and is expected to graduate in August 2023.

About the Fiesta Bowl: The Fiesta Bowl is a world-class community organization that executes innovative experiences, drives economic growth and champions charitable causes, inspiring pride in all Arizonans. As a nonprofit organization, it believes in the importance of community outreach and service. Through charitable giving, the organization strives to enhance Arizona nonprofit organizations that contribute to the success of communities through youth, sports and education. Since 1971, the Fiesta Bowl has worked to increase its footprint across the state and work to benefit Arizonans year-round, during and outside of bowl season.
 
About NACDA: Now in its 58th year, NACDA is the professional and educational Association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. NACDA manages 17 professional associations and four foundations. In addition to virtual programming, NACDA hosts five major professional development events in-person annually. The NACDA & Affiliates Convention is the largest gathering of collegiate athletics administrators in the country. For more information, visit www.nacda.com.
 
About the McLendon Foundation
The McLendon Foundation, established in 1999, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded and administered by NACDA. Through the scholarship program and leadership initiative, the McLendon Foundation provides minorities educational resources, practical experiences and serves as a vehicle for networking, career advancement and advocacy on behalf of the profession. More information regarding the McLendon Foundation can be found at minorityleaders.org.