By Christine Frisch, '12

Two Carthage athletes have been awarded prestigious scholarships from the NCAA. Men's basketball player Steve Djurickovic, '11, from Kenosha, and women's swimmer Michelle Pelka, '11, from Elgin, Ill., have been awarded NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships. This award recognizes student-athletes who excel both athletically and academically, and who are in their final year of collegiate competition. The NCAA awards 174 postgraduate scholarships each year. Three other Carthage student-athletes have received the award: football player Bill Radakovitz, '70; men's swimmer Tom Hartog, '78; and men's swimmer Bryan Pelka, '09.

Steve Djurickovic

Steve Djurickovic graduated from Carthage in May 2011 with a degree in Exercise and Sport Science. The son of Carthage basketball coach Bosko Djurickovic, Steve started playing basketball at age 3, when his father coached at North Park University. His love for basketball grew with his level of performance, and his skills only escalated at Carthage. He was named Capital One first-team Academic All-America and a 2010 ESPN Magazine third-team Academic All-America, has been All-CCIW all four seasons, earned the CCIW Fred Young Most Outstanding Player Award in 2010 and 2011, and won the 2011 Jostens Trophy. He was also named to the Dean's List and the Athletic Director's Honor Roll at Carthage.

He said that his greatest memories from the 2010-11 basketball season were traveling with his team to Hawaii and playing there. His toughest moment this season happened after his last game. "Not knowing whether or not we would make the conference tournament was really difficult," he said. He considers Antoine McDaniel, Carthage assistant coach and an All-American at Carthage from 2000 to 2003, a role model.

At Carthage, Steve was an active member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. He is still deciding what to do next year, but he plans to eventually go to graduate school and pursue a career in coaching.

"I'll miss the TARC because that's where I spent the majority of my time with work, classes and practice," he said. "I'll also miss the atmosphere of Carthage and just all the people around campus." His advice for incoming students? "Enjoy your time and experiences because it's over before you know it," he said.

Michelle Pelka

When it comes to balancing sports and school, Michelle Pelka has it down to a science. She graduated from Carthage in May 2011 with a double major in biology and neuroscience, and a minor in chemistry. She is the first Carthage female athlete to be awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. Her brother, Bryan Pelka, won the same scholarship in 2009.

"My brother is my role model because he is two years older than me and we have done a lot of things in parallel throughout our lives: swimming, attending Carthage, studying pre-med, the NCAA scholarship," Michelle said. "He has always been an immediate role model for me. He is now in medical school and active duty in the U.S. Navy, so I've got big footsteps to follow."

Michelle started swimming when she was 9 years old. "I actually hated the water when I was little and was awful at swim lessons, so I am not sure how I decided to start — probably to beat my brother," she said. When asked about her greatest memory from this season, she said, "I would have to say it was our incoming freshman class. They were so talented and full of personality and they all fit so well with our team. It's great to have fun people around you when you're swimming back and forth for hours."

This year Michelle was named College Swimming Coaches Association of America All-America and won her fourth-straight CCIW title in the 200 individual medley, her fourth-straight league title in the 200 butterfly, and her fourth-straight title in the 400 individual medley. The season's hardest moment was not winning their conference, she said. "We had been so close the last two years and we all wanted to be the first team from Carthage to win. We had so much fun as a team, though, I was so proud of all the girls."

While at Carthage, Michelle was a member of Tau Sigma Chi, the biology honor society Beta Beta Beta, and also involved with undergraduate research. Currently, she is applying to medical school and spending the year doing clinical research. "You don't have to choose between your sport and school," she said. "You can do it all."