RIVER FALLS, WI – Former Johns Hopkins volleyball standout
Helena Swaak has been selected as one of two recipients of the Nick Mourouzis Postgraduate Scholarship for the 2025-26 academic year, Chi Alpha Sigma announced Wednesday. Swaak, along with former Ithaca College gymnast Emily Kobusky, was selected from an impressive field of nominated Chi Alpha Sigma inductees to receive one of two $3,500 scholarships.
Swaak is the first athlete in Johns Hopkins history to be named a recipient of the postgraduate scholarship, which was first awarded during the 2019-20 academic year.
"Emily and Helena represent everything we seek to celebrate through Chi Alpha Sigma," executive director Kellen Wells-Mangold said. "We are proud to support them as they continue their education and pursue careers dedicated to helping others, while carrying forward Coach Mourouzis' enduring commitment to developing leaders through college athletics."
A two-time AVCA All-American and CSC Academic All-American, Swaak graduated from Johns Hopkins with a degree in public health studies and a slew of athletic and academic honors. A setter for the Blue Jays, Swaak finished her senior season with a Centennial Conference-leading 653 assists, while contributing 214 kills, a team-best 45 service aces, 357 digs (3.16 per set) and 68 blocks across 113 sets.
Swaak finished her playing career ranked fourth in program history with 3,356 career assists, ninth in service aces (165) and 12th in digs (1,026).
Swaak will begin her graduate studies at the University of Virginia and plans to pursue a career in pediatric nursing.
Named in honor of Chi Alpha Sigma founder Nick Mourouzis, the Nick Mourouzis Postgraduate Scholarship is presented annually to two Chi Alpha Sigma inductees. The scholarship was first awarded during the 2019-20 academic year and honors Mourouzis' commitment to developing leaders through college athletics.
To be eligible for the Nick Mourouzis Postgraduate Scholarship, student-athletes must be Chi Alpha Sigma inductees from an active chapter of the National College Athlete Honor Society; be seeking their postgraduate degree in the immediate upcoming academic year; be enrolled in a full-time program of studies; have exhausted all athletic eligibility before starting graduate-level coursework; and be formally nominated by their respective chapter advisor.
