Junior Julie Williamson competes at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama. In addition to being honored as an Athlete of the Week by emoryathletics.com, Williamson was awarded the Sonny Carter Scholarship.  | Courtesy of Emory Athletics

Junior Julie Williamson competes at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama. In addition to being honored as an Athlete of the Week by emoryathletics.com, Williamson was awarded the Sonny Carter Scholarship. | Courtesy of Emory Athletics

Junior cross country and track & field runner Julie Williamson has been awarded the prestigious Sonny Carter Scholarship, which is granted to athletes who demonstrate academic and athletic prowess as well as enriching community life.

The scholarship memorializes Manley Lanier “Sonny” Carter Jr., an Emory alumnus. He was a soccer player, physician, test pilot and astronaut. Mrs. Dana Carter and Dr. David Short, in addition to other family members and friends of Sonny Carter, founded the scholarship. The scholarship pays for partial tuition for one academic year.

“[Carter] was such an amazing person, so to get recognized by his award is inspiring,” Williamson said. “It’s so special and an honor.”

Williamson applied for the award and was given recommendations from professors and coaches.

“I am absolutely thrilled,” said John Curtin, who is the head coach of both the cross country and track and field teams.

[quote_box name=””] “There isn’t a person more deserving. She is the most humble and caring teammate you can have. She’s the type of girl I hope my grandchildren grow up to be like.”[/quote_box]

Williamson has been one of the track team stars since she came to Emory three years ago. This week alone she was spotlighted as Athlete Of The Week by emoryathletics.com for helping set a school record by anchoring the 4×800-meter relay team at last weekend’s Emory Invitational. She came in third in the individual 800-meter race with a time of 2:14.46, the sixth fastest in Emory’s history.

“Curtin is a great coach,” Williamson said. “When I came to Emory I wasn’t nearly as good as I am now; I’ve improved a lot because Coach [Curtin] never game up on me. He’s been so encouraging this whole time.”

Because of Williamson’s rocky start at Emory, Curtin often has Williamson talk to freshmen who are nervous for meets or are anxious about being on a new team, she added.

“I had a tough time transitioning into college track,” sophomore teammate Alexa Young said. “I spoke to [our coach] who told me that Julie had a similar problem, but became better sophomore year. She’s always been a hard worker, but this year, the amount she has worked has increased exponentially and her times are unbelievable.”

During this past indoor season, she earned All-University Athletic Association (UAA) honors with her third-place finish in the 1600-meter relay with a time of 15.36, which ranks as the second fastest time in the Eagles’ history.

This season isn’t the first season she has seen incredible success. Williamson participated in the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships twice and earned five All-UAA honors.

Academically, Williamson has been just as impressive. She has a 3.962 cumulative grade point average as a neuroscience and behavioral biology (NBB) major. Through her academic success she has been on the Dean’s List and has been awarded Academic All-UAA recognition five times each. She is a member of the exclusive Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Eta Sigma honors societies.

Despite having the difficult task of excelling in academics and athletics, Williamson has still found time to work as a research assistant for the Emory University Department of Cell Biology and is a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

“I found out right after a finalist interview, so I knew I had a chance, but it was still such a surprise,” Williamson said. “It was actually very good timing as it came right before our conference meet, so I went into the meet with a lot of confidence. I’m very grateful.”

 

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