VMI football cadet-athlete Hayden Alford has been selected recipient of the Dave Hart postgraduate scholarship awarded by the Southern Conference.
A Dean’s List chemistry major, Alford is one of 10 postgraduate scholarship recipients for the 2015-16 academic year. The 10 student-athletes will be honored for their accomplishments at the Southern Conference Honors Dinner in Hilton Head, S.C. on Wednesday, June 1.
The recipients are nominated by their schools and selected by the Southern Conference Graduate Scholar Committee. The scholarships, worth $2,000 each, are awarded to student-athletes about to receive their undergraduate degrees who intend to pursue advanced degrees in graduate or professional school. The student-athletes are evaluated on academics, athletics and community service.
Alford, a native of Dyersburg, Tennessee, served as the team’s punter the past two seasons and was a reserve quarterback. He punted 45 times for a 39.8 yards per punt average which ranked fifth in the league and had seven punts inside the 20 and three punts over 50 yards including a season long 55-yarder in the season finale against Western Carolina. Alford also booted a 51-yarder against Samford and 50-yarder against Chattanooga. He made one start at quarterback (The Citadel) and completed 17 of 40 passes for 158 yards and one touchdown on the season. Alford also blasted a season-long 69-yard punt in 2014.
In the classroom, the chemistry major with a 3.93 GPA earned spots in the Phi Eta Sigma National Freshman Honor Society and the Gamma Sigma Epsilon National Chemistry Honor Society. In addition, he earned the Ritchey Third Class Award as the top organic chemistry student at VMI and the James Lewis Howe Award as the Institute’s top chemistry major for the class of 2016. Alford has accrued more than 300 hours as a volunteer physician aid and nearly 200 as a quarterback mentor for high school students. Alford intends to pursue a career in medicine after graduating in May.
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Chris Graham
