Brandi Gervais, Towson University's senior cross country squad and track team captain who graduated summa cum laude, has been awarded a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.
A biology major with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Gervais plans to apply the award toward Dental School expenses.
Gervais becomes the sixth Tiger student-athlete to earn a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, following Greg Davies (Baseball 2002), David Adkins (Swimming 2002), Ben Whitacre (Football 2003), Nigel Marples (Soccer 2007) and Randall Cooper (Lacrosse 2009). She is the only student-athlete in the Colonial Athletic Association to be so honored this year.
"The awards just keep coming for Brandi," said Tiger coach Roger Erricker. "Academically and athletically she's done everything we ever asked of her. She's an extremely impressive young lady. The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship is a great honor for her as well as our cross country and track programs, our department and the university."
Gervais was a three-year performer in cross country and track after transferring to Towson from Southeast Missouri State. She was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team in 2010. This past fall she was selected as the Colonial Athletic Association's Scholar-Athlete for women's cross country.
A member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Honors College's Student Council, Gervais was the recipient of numerous scholarships including the Rachuba Enterprises Scholarship, the Betty Kennedy Scholarship and the Towson Foundation Scholarship.
During her cross country career she had three top 10 finishes. This past fall she ran second in the Towson Invitational in a time of 18:35.That proved to be the second fastest 5K time for a Tiger runner in 2010.
On the track Gervais set the school record for the indoor 5K (17:45.33). She ended her collegiate career with the program's third fastest times in the 10,000 (37:22.00) and the 3000 meter run (10:07.81).
"It's very exciting," Gervais said. "I remember filling out the paperwork for this but when I didn't hear anything I figured I hadn't gotten it. I'm really honored to receive it."
Gervais plans to move with her parents to Washington, D.C. She'll intern in dental clinics at Fort Detrick and the Pentagon for a year before enrolling in dental school. The University of Maryland's School of Dentistry is her first choice.
The daughter of Lt. Colonel Chris Gervais and Colonel Maria Gervais, Brandi was the subject of local and national human interest stories when both parents deployed to Iraq, leaving her behind to complete her senior year at Towson. After securing special military leave, her parents surprised Brandi by traveling 8,000 miles to attend their only child's college graduation last month.
