Miami, Florida native recognized for the third time in her career by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education for performance on the court and in the classroom
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education – April 29, 2021 Issue
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EASTON, Massachusetts (May 18, 2021) – The Stonehill College volleyball recent graduate Sophia Poveda was named to the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar third team earning her third honor from the program, as published in the April edition of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education sponsors the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Awards to honor undergraduate students who have excelled in the classroom as well as on the athletic field. Inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.'s commitment to education as well as his love for the game of tennis, U.S. colleges and universities are invited to participate in this annual awards program by nominating their outstanding sports scholars. In addition to their athletic ability and academic performance, Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars demonstrate a commitment to community service and student leadership.
Poveda, who has earned a 3.71 cumulative grade-point average and a 3.92 GPA as of the fall semester and while majoring in economics and earning minors in political science and business, was the only Northeast-10 Conference representative to be named on the Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar volleyball teams.
Poveda has volunteered her time as a counselor with the Ace's Girls Program, which is a female empowerment program for local youth and has helped the team with Team IMPACT, coordinating the team's involvement with the organization prior to signing their new teammate in February 2020. Poveda was a peer mentor at Stonehill with the Moreau Honors Program meeting and communicating with assigned incoming freshmen to assist with the college transition and a subject tutor with Stonehill's Center for Writing and Academic Achievement in Spanish, economics, political science, and business courses. Poveda also coached for the 14-under Mass Premier Volleyball Club team during her time at Stonehill.
For two years Poveda hosted a talent show and helped decorate the Heights Crossing Rehabilitation Center for the holidays and she helped with the reading program and assisted with homework at Trinity Catholic Academy in Brockton, Massachusetts. She volunteered at Carlton M Viveiros Elementary school in Rhode Island and takes time during the holiday season to volunteer at My Brother's Keeper in Easton, Massachusetts. In 2019, Poveda volunteered at the Hogar Santa Ana in Buenos Aires, where she played games and led arts and crafts with children from abusive families.
During her sophomore year, Poveda was nominated by her coach to be involved in the Stonehill Leadership Development Series for student-athletes. For six years, Poveda was a Student Spokesperson for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) where she was a speaker at FCA Night of Champions, donor events, and school chapels.
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The senior two-year co-captain assisted the Skyhawks to a 17-10 overall mark and 9-4 in the NE10 in 2019 as they made their second appearance in three years in the semifinal round of the NE10 Tournament after finishing second in regular season. These records were the best record for the Skyhawks since 2014 and they finished eighth in the NCAA East Region.
Poveda totaled 20 double-doubles in her career, earning 12 of them in 2019. She saw career highs in five categories during her junior year including kills (274), kills per set (2.88), hitting percentage (.221), digs (249), and digs per set (2.62). In the NE10, she finished ranked seventh in kills per set, 11th in total kills, 27th in hitting percentage, 30th in total digs, and 34th in digs per set.
In 2019, Poveda was named to the NE10 All-Conference first team, for her first conference honor. She has also been named to the NE10 Academic Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll, and Dean's list seven semesters. Poveda was selected as the 2021 Stonehill Edward E. Martin Women's Senior Scholar-Athlete Award winner. She was inducted into the Lambda Epsilon Sigma and Omicron Delta Epsilon Honor Societies and was selected to give the 2021 class address at Commencement this year.
Poveda is a 2017 graduate of Westminster Christian School in Miami, Florida, where she played basketball and volleyball. The junior also played club volleyball for the Miami Elite.
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