ST. MARY'S CITY, Md.--Recent graduate Danielle Sgro, a four-year member of the Hood College cross country and track and field teams, was one of three winners of a $500 post-graduate scholarship from the Maryland Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (MACDA).

A native of Indiana, Pa., Sgro served as team captain in both sports. Four times, she was selected as cross country’s most valuable runner. Sgro was a two-time all-Capital Athletic Conference selection after finishing in the top 12 at the CAC cross country championships in 2007 and 2008. She holds cross country records in the 6K for freshman, sophomore, junior and senior classifications.

In track, Sgro set records in the 3K, 5K, 6K, 10K, half-marathon and marathon, and qualified for the Boston Marathon. She earned all-conference honors following a second-place finish in the 10,000m in 2008.

As a member of the Hood Honors Program, Sgro earned Dean’s List recognition every semester, was a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Academic All-American, and was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, Pi Sigma Alpha and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Societies.

The Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year and magna cum laude graduate, she was a political science major with a minor in English literature and history. Her extracurricular activities included serving as a resident assistant for two years, being the senior class secretary, as well as interning at the Strategic Health Care Lobbying and Consulting Firm and the law office of Camilla O. McRory.

Hood has endorsed Sgro for the Rhodes and Marshall Scholarships through which she will be able to study abroad for graduate school at Oxford University. Her future plans are to attend law school with a health care concentration and someday work either as a health policy analyst, journalist or health care attorney.

The MACDA postgraduate scholarships recognize three student-athletes for superior work in the classroom and on the field. The honorees represent three Maryland institutions of higher learning and differing levels of NCAA competition. Each recipient will receive a non-renewable, one-time grant of $500 upon their enrollment in a postgraduate program.

To be eligible, student-athletes must possess a minimum 3.2 grade-point average in undergraduate studies, excel in a varsity sport, participate in leadership activities beyond the playing field and plan to further their education.

Emily Smithson, a field hockey standout at St. Mary's College (Md.), and Clifford Bridges, a jumps specialist from the indoor and outdoor track and field teams at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, were the other two recipients.