MAY 4, 2010
KING'S ELLIS HONORED AS MAC WOMEN'S LACROSSE SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
ANNVILLE – King's College senior Shannon Ellis (Lansdown/Upper Darby) has been honored as the Middle Atlantic Conference Women's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the annual MAC Awards banquet held Tuesday at Lebanon Valley College, Annville.
Ellis was a member of the King's women's lacrosse team and also doubled as a four-year varsity volleyball player. During the course of her career, Ellis excelled in the classroom, posting a perfect 4.0 grade-point average as a Biology and Spanish double-major.
A King's Presidential Scholarship recipient, Ellis has been named to King's Dean's List every semester. She is a member of Alpha Epsilon Sigma (Pre-Health) Honor Society, the Alpha Mu Gamma (Spanish) Honor Society, the Delta Epsilon Sigma Honor Society, and the Aquinas Honor Society. She has received a Medical Mycology Society of America travel grant and an Awarded AMS Student Travel Grant. She was presented the Paul Laurence Best in Science Award and received a PAS Research Grant. Shannon was awarded a AMS Undergraduate Research Fellowship. As well as a NSF-REU Fellowship. She was a PHEAA Sci-Tech Scholarship Recipient and a Mendenhall-Tyson Scholarship recipient. She is a five-time MAC All-Academic selection in women's lacrosse and volleyball combined.
Ellis is a member of the King's Biology Club (Secretary 2009) and the Pre-Health Club (Secretary 2009). She has served as a volunteer with the St. Vincent DePaul Soup Kitchen, the Kirby Family House, and works with the “Volunteers in Medicine” Free Health Clinic.
She has tutored approximately 50 King's students in Genetics, Biochemistry, General Chemistry, Immunology, Statistics, and Advanced Spanish. Shannon has worked as a 2008 Summer Undergraduate Researcher in Minden Laboratory at Carnegie-Mellon University, studying the effects of Hsp27 on cell death in Drosophilia melanogaster. She was worked in 2009 as an Undergraduate Researcher in King's Ory Laboratory studying the effects of copper on the growth morphology of Crytococcus neoformans.
Ellis was a three-year starter in women's lacrosse, having only played part of junior year due to academic commitments. She tied King's school-record with 11 ground balls on April 14 versus Lycoming and posted 116 career ground balls, 32 draw controls and 66 caused turnovers during her career. In volleyball, posted 710 digs as a defensive specialist.
“We are thrilled Shannon has been recognized with such an outstanding honor,” King's director of athletics Cheryl Ish stated. “To be voted the top scholar-athlete in your respective sport says a great deal about her dedication as a student-athlete as well as a person. Shannon has been a model of excellence during her time at King's and we are very proud of all she has accomplished. She has been a tremendous representative of academics and athletics at King's."
