South Hadley, Mass. - June 15, 2021 - Former Mount Holyoke College tennis student-athlete and captain Ishita Tibrewal, Class of 2018, recently earned an NCAA Ethnic Minority Postgraduate Scholarship on behalf of the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interest Committee.
As a recipient of the scholarship, Tibrewal will receive a $10,000 nonrenewable award to be used during the 2021-22 academic year. The goal of the enhancement program is to increase the pool of and opportunities for qualified minority and female candidates in intercollegiate athletics through graduate scholarships.
Tibrewal, who graduated from Mount Holyoke College magna cum laude double majoring in Economics and Sports Management, is one of only 13 ethnic minorities and 13 female college graduates who will be entering their initial year of graduate studies with an NCAA Ethnic Minority Postgraduate Scholarship. Tibrewal is also the second Mount Holyoke College alum in as many years to earn the NCAA Ethnic Minority Postgraduate Scholarship, following up on Micaela Pierce '20, a field hockey captain that earned the scholarship for the 2019-20 academic year.
"I am very grateful to the NCAA selection committee for considering me worthy of this scholarship," said Tibrewal. "I will be using this scholarship to undertake the MS/MBA in Sport Management at UMass in the Fall. My varsity athletic experience at Mount Holyoke was an invaluable part of my overall college education. I am very grateful for the support and encouragement I received from my mentors, coaches, and the entire athletics department to pursue my dreams of a career in sports. I have already worked in college athletics and I can't wait to get back to it! I hope to be able to pay forward all the opportunities that Mount Holyoke and NCAA have provided me and do my part to influence and drive real change in making sports more equitable."
Most recently, Tibrewal served as the Digital Media Coordinator for Minor League Baseball (MiLB) outside of St. Petersburg, Fla. from January of 2020 through October of 2020. Prior to working with the MiLB, Tibrewal was an Event Management and Sports Promotion Coordinator at New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) foe Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass. At WPI, Tibrewal worked to enhance fan engagement through WPI's social media channels, as well as successfully generating five sponsorship deals with local businesses by creating a strategic marketing plan for the Engineers' athletics department. Tibrewal also spearheaded Diversity & Inclusion initiatives by implementing the "United We Win" campaign.
"Ishita is another incredible example of a Mount Holyoke College graduate who will make an impact on our industry and in the lives of future student-athletes," added interim Mount Holyoke College Director of Athletics, Erica Lemm. "I am confident that Ishita's experience and MHC education have prepared her to be successful in the field and I'm excited to support her continued development as she begins this new chapter in graduate school."
A Mount Holyoke College tennis student-athlete and captain, Tibrewal was a four-year varsity player for the Lyons in both singles and doubles competition. In singles play, Tibrewal amassed 40 career wins, and added 36 more victories in doubles competition over a four-year span. Tibrewal was also impressive in the classroom, as the Kolkata, India native collected NEWMAC Academic All-Conference and Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Scholar-Athlete honors in 2016, 2017 and 2018. In 2015, as a first year, Tibrewal was named to the Seven Sisters All Tournament Team after leading the Lyons to a pair of victories over Smith and Bryn Mawr.
The Ethnic Minority and Women's Enhancement Graduate Scholarship were developed by the NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics and the NCAA Minority Opportunities and Interests Committee.
The goal of the enhancement programs is to increase the pool of and opportunities for qualified minority and female candidates in intercollegiate athletics through graduate scholarships. Applicants must be seeking admission or have been accepted into a sports administration or program that will help the applicant obtain a career in intercollegiate athletics, such as athletics administrator, coach, athletic trainer or a career that provides a direct service to intercollegiate athletics.
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