WSU's Boyd Receives N4A Wilma Rudolph Achievement Award

Boyd's Award Essay

Senior Courtney Boyd of the Wright State women's basketball team was one of five recipients of the 2015 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award as she was honored at the N4A National Convention Award Luncheon Saturday in Orlando, Florida.

The N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award recognizes those that have overcome great personal, academic and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics.

Boyd was featured in the Spring 2014 issue of the NCAA's Champion magazine as author Amy Wimmer Schwarb and photographer Amanda Goehlert examined Courtney’s life and what brought her to Wright State.  The opening tease said it all:  “Courtney Boyd didn’t want to follow her peers into the life of drugs and despair that consumed her hometown.  To move on, she would need a new family, a new home, a new name—and the belief that an education could change her life.”

Boyd, who earned her bachelor's degree in 2014 and is currently working on a master's degree in Middle Childhood Education at Wright State, talks in the Champion article about giving back.

"That's when I was going through a tough time, trying to decide if I wanted to move away or stay there," Courtney said.  "That's when a lot of teachers had a really big influence on what I was going through.  They influenced me the right way."

"I feel like that's a good time to help a kid, when you can still...," Courtney said, never finishing her sentence.  "It's not too late."

Boyd, who finished her WSU career with 990 points, played in 130 games, which is the second-most in school history.  She also appears in the Raider career top 10 in three-pointers made (2nd with 239) and attempted (1st with 820).  Boyd's 85 three-pointers as a sophomore are the second-most in Wright State history.

During Boyd's five-year career (she was redshirted due to a preseason injury in 2012-13), Wright State collected 104 victories, won the 2014 Horizon League Tournament title and made its first four Division I postseason appearances, playing in the Women's Basketball Invitational in 2011 and 2012, the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and the Women's NIT in 2015.

About the N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award: The N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award is intended to honor student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. These young men and women may not be the best athletes or students, and therefore may not have been recognized by other organizations or awards. Nonetheless, they have persevered and made significant personal strides toward success. These are the students who benefit most from academic athletic advisement programs and represent our motivation and sense of satisfaction. We recognize them for their achievements with the N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award. The common thread for all the recipients of this award is motivation or drive to succeed and the work ethic that overcomes difficult situations.