May 14, 2003
UNM SKIER RECEIVES NCAA POSTGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP
Odds are, Anna Strandberg could tell you her chances of receiving the
NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship, a $6,900 award she plans to use to pursue
a doctorate in statistics at the University of New Mexico starting this
fall.
Strandberg graduates from UNM on Saturday, May 17, with a master of
science in statistics. She also earned a bachelor of university studies
from UNM. A native of Sweden, she was recruited to the UNM ski team
by assistant coach Fredrik Lanstedt. "He is Swedish and comes from
a town close to mine," said Strandberg. "Through e-mail I
found him and discovered he needed another girl on the team," she
said. She received a scholarship as a ski team member.
Strandberg has performed well for the Lobo ski team. She won the NCAA
National Championships in Salt Lake City in 2000 and took fourth place
nationally at the event held this year in Maine. A Nordic skier, most
of the women's races are 5K to 15K, she said.
"I really like UNM and New Mexico," she said, adding that
her favorite place to ski in the state is Red River.
"Anna is a very dedicated student. She has kept her grades high
since she came. She is a strong team member. In her four years on the
ski team she was team captain for two years. She was always willing
to help others to excel," said Lanstedt, adding that the ski team
excels academically overall.
"The ski teams, men's and women's, come in as UNM's top team academically.
They have a combined GPA of over 3.5 over the last three to five years.
Like Anna, they are all great student athletes," he said.
Strandberg's long term goal is to teach. "You have to have a Ph.D.
to teach at a university, whether I stay here or go back to Sweden,"
she said. Statistics, she said, opens doors to many career choices.
"I started my undergraduate studies in pre-forestry. I could actually
apply the statistics to that field. Medical companies and the U.S. Census
Bureau also hire statisticians," she said.
The math hasn't always come easy to her. "You have to get used
to the way of thinking used in statistics, but since statistics is applied
math, it makes more sense to me," she said.
"I am very happy to receive the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship that
will allow me to continue my studies and remain at UNM," said Strandberg.
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