NORFOLK, Va., June 21, 2021 – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has announced that Damishah Charles and Nihit Rawal, both of Morgan State University, are the 2021 recipients of the Nike Post-Graduate Scholarship.
“I would like to thank Nike for being the corporate partner for this award, and I am appreciative of our long-standing relationship,” MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis Thomas said. “In addition, I wish to congratulate Ms. Charles and Mr. Rawal, who achieved this honor through their academic and athletic excellence, and I wish them well in their future endeavors – and I want to remind them to Just Do It.”
Charles, who was on the Bears’ softball team that won its first MEAC championship this past season, is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration at Morgan State, a program that offers many different concentrations, each of which can open the different pathways. Upon completion of the program, Charles wishes to become a financial advisor for professional athletes, and the assistance of the MEAC post-graduate scholarship will enable her to focus more on achieving that goal.
She believes becoming a financial advisor for other athletes will allow her to give back to the world she grew up in and remains one of the biggest parts of her life.
Rawal played on the men’s tennis team at Morgan State, and was named the Outstanding Performer in helping the program win its first-ever MEAC title in 2019. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Accounting at Morgan State. He chose finance as his area of study because it will give him a better understanding of how he can help himself and the community grow their finances.
He would like to open his own trading and advisory firm and help the community by partnering with different schools and colleges to bring more awareness about investing, money management and improving credit scores. Rawal believes the MEAC post-graduate scholarship will be a help in the process of lifting the community and educating students who need more knowledge about managing their money and investing.
Since 2000, the MEAC has awarded post-graduate scholarships in the amount of $5,000 each to a deserving male and female student-athlete for their outstanding academic and athletic performance.
In order to receive the scholarship, a student-athlete must be in his or her final season of intercollegiate athletics eligibility and competition under MEAC and NCAA regulations for the sport in which he or she was nominated.
Additional criteria include a minimum grade-point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale), having performed with distinction as a member of the varsity team in the sport in which he or she has been nominated, the intention to enroll in a graduate degree program at an academically-accredited graduate or professional school, and having been an outstanding citizen as a student-athlete and excellent role model for the institution.
Nike, a longtime corporate partner with the MEAC dating back to the 1990s, renewed its multi-year agreement with the conference in September 2020 that made it the official apparel, accessory and equipment provider for the conference and a majority of MEAC institutions.
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) celebrates its 50th year of intercollegiate competition with the 2020-21 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of 11 outstanding historically black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Bethune-Cookman University, Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Florida A&M University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.