Karen the Swimming Cav, then Dawg

DA Alumna Karen Guilkey ('04) has been awarded a prestigious NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. From the University of Georgia press release: "Guilkey, a senior from Chapel Hill, N.C., has a 3.94 grade point average, with a major in Exercise and Sports Science. She earned SEC Academic Honor Roll status three times and has been named a Presidential Scholar and made the Dean’s List. She received the Ramsey Scholarship for Athletic and Academic Excellence and was named to the College Swim Coaches Association All-Academic Team three times. In addition, Guilkey was invited to membership in Phi Kappa Phi honor society as a junior and was a Charter Scholarship recipient.

She was named the recipient of the 2007 Joel Eaves Award as the female student-athlete at Georgia with the highest grade point average. Guilkey, who is a UGA honor society member, also received the Linda Leith Scholar-Athlete Award twice for the highest GPA on the swim team.

Athletically, she was a four-time All-American as she qualified for the NCAA Championship three times in her career. Guilkey ranks fourth in Georgia history in the 100 butterfly and sixth in the 200 butterfly, as well as fourth in the 400 medley relay and 10th in the 200 medley relay.

In the Athens community, she has participated in Relay for Life for four years, helping to raise money for cancer research, and has volunteered with teammates at the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia each year. She has served as a volunteer/intern at the Athens Regional Medical Center outpatient PT clinic.

"Karen is the epitome of what a student-athlete should be," Georgia head swimming coach Jack Bauerle said. "She has worked extremely hard in the pool, the classroom and the community. She's a person who understands what it's all about. She sees the big picture and does whatever it takes to get there."