University of Tennessee Athletics
Gia Hodges Receives 2021 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award
June 23, 2021 | Rowing
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals (N4A) has announced that Gia Hodges, a recent Tennessee graduate and four-year member of the rowing team, is a recipient of its 2021 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award. Â
The N4A Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award honors student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. They have persevered and made significant personal strides toward success.Â
Upon arriving at UT, Hodges made her presence known through her academics and her positive attitude that was contagious among her teammates. But Hodges' path to get to graduation was not easy. Her family has been fractured in various ways: divorce, violence, emotional torment, addiction and neurological disease. Hodges' biological father struggles with addiction, while her adoptive father lives with an extremely rare, neuromuscular disease. The impacts of her adoptive fathers' diseases are both physical and emotional. Â
Once her adoptive father was diagnosed, she instantly took on a role in life that most children would never even have to consider at such a young age -- she became a caretaker. Soon, that caretaker role extended to her biological father who was placed into a medically induced coma in Knoxville. At just 20 years old, she was now the power of attorney to both of her fathers while also juggling athletics and academics. Despite these challenges and responsibilities, Hodges excelled in the classroom, managing a perfect 4.0 GPA while completing a double major in neuroscience and psychology. She has been accepted to the ETSU Quillen College of Medicine and will begin her journey toward becoming a doctor on July 12.  Â
"Gia is so deserving of the Wilma Rudolph Award, not only because of the unusual challenges she faced as an undergraduate, but also because of her commitment to honor the main things in her life at the time: her immediate family, her academic pursuits and her athletic family in rowing," said Tennessee Rowing Head Coach Lisa Glenn.  "I'm proud of her ability to see the necessity of these things to her overall success as a student and an athlete."Â
Hodges is one of six 2021 recipients of the Wilma Rudolph Award. Other winners are: Kaia Harris, Purdue University; Hunter Pinke, University of North Dakota; Bryand Rincher, Florida State University; Charles (Tre) Tipton, University of Pittsburgh; and Gwendolyn Zeckowski, University of Maryland. All six athletes were honored during the 2021 N4A Virtual Convention on June 23, which is Wilma Rudolph's birthday.Â
"The N4A is honored to recognize six outstanding student-athletes with its annual Wilma Rudolph Award. These student-athletes have overcome many obstacles in their lives, and demonstrated grit, resilience, determination, and strength. They are outstanding examples of the power of the human spirit, and we are proud to honor them," said Ursula Gurney, N4A President and Deputy Director of Athletics/SWA, University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).Â
Players Mentioned
