Anderson Wins Distinguished A.O. Duer Scholarship Award

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced honorees in addition to over 11,000 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes and over 2,000 NAIA Scholar Teams as a part of its annual NAIA National Awards Day on. The day recognizes the association's highest individual honors and achievements of NAIA student-athletes, administrators, and coaches. Additionally, the association announced the three-member class of the 2021-22 NAIA Hall of Fame.

Peyton Anderson was named a 2021-22 NAIA National Award; A.O. Duer Scholarship Award Winner. Named in honor of the NAIA's former executive secretary who served the association for 26 years, the A.O. Duer Scholarship Award has been annually presented since 1967 to a male and female junior student-athlete in any sport who has excelled in scholarship, character, and citizenship.

Peyton Anderson from Lee's Summit, Mo. and is a track and field student-athlete for Graceland University (Iowa). Peyton displays leadership both in his sports and academics, and many who nominated Peyton echo the strong character, incredible work ethic, and leadership he has displayed in his short time at Graceland.

Anderson has continually challenged himself academically by taking a full course load, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA while working on a major in Economics, with minors in both Data Science and Sport Management. Peyton is involved in house leadership roles, helps tutor students on campus, and continues to be incredibly committed to both his studies and his athletic career.

These mentor positions are usually reserved for juniors and seniors, but the combination of Anderson's strong grasp of the material, good communication skills, and leadership ability made him a great choice even as a sophomore. It is this same level-headed leadership and respect from his peers that allowed for Anderson to be voted to be the next house president for his hall next year which requires several trials to achieve and is a privilege to hold that position.

Anderson displays all five NAIA core values in his everyday life and is the perfect candidate for this award.

-Yellowjackets-