Cookerly Recognized in MVC Scholar-Athlete Spotlight

Valpo volleyball senior Rylee Cookerly (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) was recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference on Wednesday as a featured student-athlete in the latest edition of the conference’s Scholar-Athlete Spotlight.

Cookerly currently holds a 3.967 cumulative grade point average as a nursing major, following in the footsteps of many Valpo student-athletes who have gone through Valpo’s College of Nursing and Health Professions. She has received Valpo Presidential Academic Honors each semester eligible and has been a member of the Dean’s List each of her first six semesters at Valpo.

Through the College of Nursing and Health Professions, Cookerly took a trip to Ireland to learn about the health care in that country. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the nursing honor society, as well — an organization which helps with continued education, networking and research for nurses and nursing students all around the world.

Cookerly was a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-District honoree as a junior after earning Second Team accolades as a sophomore. On the conference level, she was twice been named an MVC First Team Scholar-Athlete and has both received the MVC Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Award and been a member of the MVC Honor Roll each of the last two years.

On campus, Cookerly is a member of Valpo’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She is active at St. Teresa of Avila, involved in Sunday student mass, Bible study and retreats. Cookerly also volunteers at St. Teresa of Avila’s Café Manna, a community outreach program serving hot meals to the Valparaiso community. She has assisted with Valpo’s on-campus volleyball camps and has helped run volleyball youth clinics at the YMCA as well.