College Soccer Star From Farmington Earns Major Academic Honor

Little East Conference

FARMINGTON, CT — A Unionville resident who plays college soccer was recently recognized for his prowess in the classroom in addition to the pitch.

The Little East Conference announced Farmington resident Walter Scudder, a recent graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, was one of three LEC Student Athlete of the Year recipients for this year.

He will be nominated for the Division III Association Student-Athlete of the Year Award.

The LEC Student Athlete of the Year Award is presented in recognition of a student-athlete’s athletic and academic prowess, leadership, and community service.

The student-athlete must have exhausted their collegiate eligibility in their primary sport.

Scudder becomes the fourth Eastern student-athlete to be recognized in the program.

He was named All-LEC three times in his career, earning first-team honors his junior and senior seasons after garnering second-team accolades as a sophomore.

“My experiences as a scholar athlete at ECSU have, most importantly, prepared me to serve. My time studying biology, tutoring underclassmen, researching cell migration, shadowing physicians, volunteering in a nursing home, speaking at schools and churches in India, working as a landscaper, package handler, and coach, and captaining the men’s soccer team have shaped me
into a leader ready for a career in medicine," Scudder said in a statement.

A biology major, Scudder was a regular feature on the LEC’s All-Academic Team and Academic Honor Roll, and was inducted into Eastern’s Beta Beta Beta, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Chi Alpha Sigma honor societies.

He additionally earned the biology department’s Academic Excellence Award in both years of
eligibility and was invited by professors to serve as a research and teaching assistant.

Scudder was additionally honored this past year when he was named as the Eastern athletic department’s co-recipient of the Francis E. Geissler Senior Male Sportsperson-of-the-Year Award.

In nominating Scudder for this award, ECSU Men's Soccer Coach Greg DeVito said, “Walter’s integrity and character are unsurpassed for a young man of his age. He was able to make solid decisions for himself, but also able to counsel and enforce standards when his teammates needed to step in. Walter is the epitome of a student-athlete.”

For more information on Scudder, click on this link.

For the full announcement of the awards, click on this link.