ARCATA, Calif.---  As announced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Humboldt State University’s Amelia Wagoner is one of 161 college student-athletes to be named the conference-level nominees for the 2020 Woman of the Year Award.

As announced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Humboldt State University’s Amelia Wagoner is one of 161 college student-athletes to be named the conference-level nominees for the 2020 Woman of the Year Award.

Wagoner was one of a program-record pool of 605 school nominees that were named earlier this summer. 

The nominees represent student-athletes from 21 different sports spanning all three NCAA divisions.  Of those nominated, 59 nominees competed in Division I, 39 in Division II and 63 in Division III.

The NCAA Woman of the Year program is rooted in Title IX and has recognized graduating female college athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership since its inception in 1991.

Conferences can recognize two nominees if at least one is a woman of color or international student-athlete. All nominees who compete in a sport not sponsored by their school’s primary conference, as well as associate conference nominees and independent nominees, were placed in a separate pool to be considered by a selection committee. Four nominees from the pool were selected to move forward in the process with the conference nominees.

 The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will now choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division — from the conference-level nominees. The Top 30 honorees will be announced in September. From there, the selection committee will narrow the pool to three finalists from each division. The NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics will select the 2020 Woman of the Year from the nine finalists.

The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2020 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named this fall.

Wagoner graduated this past May from Humboldt State with a Bachelor’s Degree in History Education and a minor in Geography.  The Coalinga, Calif., native was a four-year letter-winner for the Lumberjacks’ nationally ranked women’s rowing team. 

During her intercollegiate career, Wagoner volunteered at many community service activities and leadership positions including the following:  Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), Sexual Assault Prevention Committee, Women’s Rowing Varsity Co-Captain, Beach Clean-up Days, History Day Mentor, Volunteering at local elementary schools, webinar with the State of California students about State Bill 493 and promoting it on their campuses, Survive and Thrive Support Group and Promoting ENOUGH a free legal aid hotline for student survivors of sexual assault.

Wagoner also received numerous honors during her time at Humboldt State University (HSU) including 2020 Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) All-Academic Team, Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) Scholar Athlete, Presidential Scholar, HSU Female Character Award, Dean’s List and Equal Rights Advocates 2019 Gender Justice Honoree:  Emerging Leaders of Courage Award.

She was a member of the 2017, 2018 and 2019 WIRA Championship Teams.  In 2018, Wagoner was the Hammer Award recipient given by the Humboldt State Women’s Rowing Team. 

 Amelia is currently employed through AmeriCorps as an economic empowerment specialist through KCADV which is the Kentucky coalition against domestic violence. Working in a domestic violence shelter answering crisis calls and providing financial literacy and planning tools to survivors to help them transition to independent living free of violence. Her future plans include pursuing a masters in Applied Sociology.