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Florida State swimmer Sydney Cole has been named a Fulbright Scholar, affording her the opportunity to study sociology in Belgium. Archive photo via Florida State Athletics
Florida State swimmer Sydney Cole has been named a Fulbright Scholar, affording her the opportunity to study sociology in Belgium.
Bender, who ranks 5th all-time in the 200 breast (2:12.80) in Notre Dame program history, is the first student-athlete from Notre Dame to earn the Fulbright Scholarship.
The reigning NCAA champion in the 1650 freestyle will join the impressive distance culture developed at NC State, led by coach Mark Bernardino.
June 02nd, 2024
Another NCAA swimmer has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship from the U.S. federal government to study abroad. Sydney Cole, who just completed her college swimming career at Florida State, will spend the 2024-2025 academic year pursuing a Masters in Sociology at the University of Ghent in Belgium.
According to the Florida State English Department: “During her time there, she plans to study the concepts of sustainable development, analyzing environmental policy and ethical models of engagement within a globalized world. She hopes to translate this into further work with issues of humanitarianism.”
Earlier this year, Notre Dame swimming & diving captain Sarah Bender also earned a Fulbright Scholarship allowing her to teach English abroad in the Slovak Republic as a graduate student beginning this fall
Introduced in 1946 by former U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright, the Fulbright Program offers opportunities for recipients to pursue professional and academic endeavors abroad, including teaching, doing research, and undertaking graduate studies. Approximately 800 Americans receive Fulbright scholarships annually to pursue academic interests in around 130 countries.
This is the latest academic honor for Cole. On April 29, the Florida State University Honors Program recognized her as an Outstanding Senior Scholar, meaning she completed a rigorous academic course of study and had a GPA of 3.9 or higher. She double majored in English-Editing, Writing, and Media; and sociology.
In April, she received the Waters Fund for Excellence in Literature award, one of 14 undergraduate awards given to spotlight excellence in scholarship work, writing, and teach.
In the pool, Cole finished her swimming career on a high note, competing for the Seminoles at the ACC Championships for the first time in her senior season in the spring. Her best finish came in the 200 backstroke, where she placed 20th in a lifetime best of 1:56.45; she also swam lifetime bests in the 200 IM (1:59.60) and 400 IM (4:18.82) in her final collegiate meet.
Her best time in the 200 back coming into the season was a 1:58.84 from her sophomore year, and her breakthrough final run saw her undercut that time four times in her senior season.
Congrats Syd!!
Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers’ Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …
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