CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa --- The Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) announced today that former Loras College basketball player Lori Obendorf (Naperville, Ill./Metea Valley) has been named the Johanna Olson IIAC Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year for the 2016-17 academic year. The award, the highest individual honor from the conference, goes to an alumnus from the previous academic year. 

Obendorf had an outstanding 4.00 grade-point average while majoring in Elementary Education and Spanish at Loras. She was a two-year captain of the women's basketball team, earning Iowa Conference Defensive Player of the Year honors three times and being named first team all-conference twice during her standout career. Obendorf stands 10th all-time at Loras in scoring (1,015 points) and became the tenth member of the school's 1,000-point club. She also finished second all-time at Loras in rebounds (919) and third all-time in blocked shots (243). Among her scholarly achievements and awards was being one of 17 student-athletes named to the 2017 College Sports Information Directors Association (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Team. She was on the Academic Dean’s Top 20 GPA’s list for the senior class at Loras. Obendorf was also an honors program participant, where she took part in a three-year cultural interdisciplinary project. The project included academic research, cultural competency training, and community engagement. During her time at Loras she served on a mission trip to Honduras and a teen service trip to Michigan. Obendorf actively volunteered at many organizations such as the local women's center, children's museum, elementary schools, family centers, food pantries and Special Olympics. 

"This is consistently one of the best days of the year for me,” said Iowa Conference Commissioner Chuck Yrigoyen. “It is the culmination of a process in which the Faculty Athletics Representatives make the difficult choice of choosing, from the six deserving nominees, our conference's highest individual honor among. Lori Obendorf's accomplishments as a student, an athlete and community servant are awe-inspiring. She and men's honoree Riley Gray personify the Iowa Conference and NCAA Division III ideal to its fullest and beyond."

Athletics Achievements 

• Twice named to NCAA DIII Hoops All Region Second Team (2016, 2017)
• Two-time participant in NCAA DIII Women’s Basketball Championships
• Three-time IIAC Defensive Player of the Year (15, 16, 17)
• Two-time first team IIAC All-Conference
• Two-year captain of women's basketball team
• 10th all-time at Loras in scoring (1,015 points)
• 10th member of 1,000-point club
• 2nd all-time at Loras in rebounding (919 rebounds)
• 3nd all-time at Loras in blocked shots (243 blocks)
• 3rd, 5th, and 9th all-time at Loras in single season rebounds
• 2nd, 7th, and 8thall-time at Loras in single season blocked shots
• Graduated as part of the 2nd winningest class in Loras Women’s Basketball 42-year history

Scholarly Achievements 

• COSDIA Academic All-American (2017—one of 14 players in the nation)
• Twice named to COSIDA Academic All-District Team (2016, 2017)
• Three-time IIAC All-Academic Team
• Honors Program Participant – Completed the Honors degree at Loras which included participation in a three-year cultural interdisciplinary project. The project included academic research, cultural competency training, and community engagement. Academic research and conversations with business professionals in the Dubuque area led to the discovery that young entrepreneurs were in need of greater support for their businesses. Partnered with StartUp Dubuque, an organization that guides adults in business startups, and the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!), an after-school program in which students create their own businesses. Worked with these partners to create a mentorship program for young entrepreneurs that is currently being implemented by the Loras College Business Club.
• Maxima Cum Laude
• Academic Dean’s Top 20
• Dean’s List all eight semesters
• Peer Tutor for Spanish and Math
• Streamlines Juried Conference Participant – Two-time presenter at the annual juried conference, presenting in the Spanish Composition category. Presentations included a research essay about the achievement gap in the United States, particularly for Latino students, and a literary analysis of poetry by Sor Juana through the lens of conceptism.
• Granada, Spain Study Abroad – Spent five weeks in Granada, Spain studying Spanish language and culture at the University of Granada.

Community / Campus Service 

• Honduras Mission Trip – Spent one week in Flores, Honduras volunteering for APUFRAM, an organization that runs schools for children. Helped replace a roof and spent time with the children at the school who could not go home for Easter. Used Spanish skills to interpret conversations between Loras students, APUFRAM staff, and children.
• Teen Service Trip Chaperone – Accompanied a high school youth group on a week-long Catholic Heart Workcamp service trip in Muskegon, Michigan. Participated in faith-centered activities and discussions with teens. Volunteered with the Muskegon Lakeshore Boys and Girls Club.
• Waterleaf Women’s Center Volunteer – Helped make gift bundles and tags for women who receive ultrasounds. Sorted and organized donations at the center in Aurora, IL.
• DuPage Children’s Museum Volunteer Assistant – Visited museum bi-weekly to help reset exhibits while not in use and assisted with cleanup. Engaged children at museum exhibits by asking questions and offering suggestions.
• Volunteer Summer School Assistant at Beebe Elementary – Assisted with math and reading in Kindergarten and 3rd grade classrooms for four weeks at the Naperville, IL school. Tutored 3rd grade ELL student in reading for two weeks.
• Multicultural Family Center Volunteer – Served food, help facilitate programming to teenagers with broken homes in the city of Dubuque, worked with programming to break cultural barriers Luther Manor Retirement Home Visitor – Visited and conversed with residents in need of company on a weekly basis.
• Adopt a Family – Four-year participant in raising funds for Christmas wish lists for children of Iowa Children’s Hospital and then distributing those gifts to families.
• Loras Liturgical Minister – Served as a lector at Sunday night Masses.
• Feed My Starving Children Food Packing Volunteer – Participated in two-hour packing sessions of food for hungry people throughout the world on an annual basis at the packing center in Aurora, IL.
• Tutor for Guatemalan Student - Weekly sessions with a high school student who recently arrived in the U.S. Assisted with homework by explaining material in Spanish and developed a relationship with the student by conversing in Spanish and learning about his life.
• Potato Drive: Helped to distribute 84,000 pounds of potatoes to different organizations and food pantries around the Tri-State area each year for four years
• Special Olympics Iowa: Four-year participant in partnering with one Special Olympian in Iowa and including him in team events, practicing against him, going to support his endeavors in basketball, snowshoeing, and softball.

Leadership Activities

• Education Club Alumni Connection Committee Chair – Organized the Loras Education Alumni Homecoming Panel for three years. Identified and corresponded with potential panelists through email, prepared panelists for the event, greeted panelists at the event, and identified and trained moderators for the event. Worked as a table host for Education Conversations in which student teachers share their experiences with other Loras education students. Guided discussion at the tables to ensure everything ran smoothly.
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes Bible Study Leader
• Small Group Leader on Loras Antioch Retreat
• Two-year captain of Loras Women’s Basketball team
• Family Focus Summer Youth Development Program Teacher – Planned and implemented activities for primarily Hispanic 1st-5th graders from low SES families in Aurora, IL.
• Duhawks 4 Life club member
• Daughters of Isabella charitable organization member
• Delta Epsilon Sigma scholastic honor society inducted member

What They Said About Lori Obendorf:
Justin Heinzen, Women's Basketball Head Coach, Loras College
"If there’s one word to describe Lori and her approach to everything she touches, it is ‘perfectionist’. Demonstrated by her flawless grade point average and proven by the fact that no single person in my thirteen years of college coaching put more time in the gym than Lori." "She is a living example of the type of person the Loras College mission statements allude to." "She is a perfect role model for NCAA DIII because of her abilities to manage time, her honesty, her respect, and her accountability."

Kate McCarthy-Gilmore, Associate Professor of Spanish, Loras College
"Without fail Lori produces reflective and critical work and demonstrates analytical promise and commitment to academic excellence." "In total, Lori is highly motivated and dedicated to her goals. I fundamentally believe she offers the scholastic and personal qualities represented by this award."

Hilarie Welsh, Associate Professor of Education, Loras College
"I know that Lori will continue to excel. Her future students are so fortunate. In Lori, they will get a dedicated, caring, empathetic, smart teacher who understands the importance of leadership and service to her community."

Obendorf, and this year’s male honoree – former Central College football player Riley Gray – will be honored May 29th at the conference’s annual awards banquet. This year, that event takes place at Central College.
 
Also nominated for the 2016-17 Johanna Olson IIAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year were former Nebraska Wesleyan track and field runner Katie Krick, former Wartburg College cross country/track and field runner Jaclyn Rittgers, former Central College soccer player Sydney Lunardi, former University of Dubuque basketball player Emily Brinker and former Luther College softball student-athlete Amanda Witzlib. For more information on these nominees, click here for the January 24, 2018 nominees / finalists release.
 
About the IIAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards
The IIAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year Award was first presented in December 2001 for the 2000-01 academic year. To be eligible for nomination, a student-athlete shall have graduated or exhausted their athletic eligibility during the academic year for which the award is given. She must have demonstrated a high level of accomplishment and achievement in a varsity sport, have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale), and show evidence of scholarly achievements, community service involvement and leadership. Originally named for longtime Wartburg sports information director and Iowa Conference secretary-treasurer Duane Schroeder, the women’s award was renamed in December 2013 in honor and memory of inaugural winner Johanna Olson (see below).
 
Previous recipients of the IIAC Female Scholar Athlete of the Year include Johanna Olson (2000-01, Luther College track and cross country), Brianne Schoonover (2001-02, Wartburg College basketball and track), Jessica Jensen (2002-03, Buena Vista University basketball and track), Raegan (Schultz) Wagner (2003-04, Central College volleyball and track), Amy Ernst (2004-05, Coe College softball), Katie Pederson (2005-06, Central College volleyball and track),  Abby Erion (2006-07, Loras College track & field), Kristy (Upah) Staker (2007-08, Coe College volleyball and softball), Kelsey Steffens (2008-09, Wartburg College volleyball and track & field), Hannah Baker (2009-10, Wartburg College track & field), Jill (Ziskovsky) Halcomb (2010-11, Central College track & field), Kelsey (Kittleson) Millonig (2011-12, Luther College softball), Shari Huber (2012-13, Luther College softball), Ramey Sieck (2013-14, Wartburg College volleyball, Bailey Wilson (2014-15, Wartburg College volleyball), Kaitlin Phillips (2015-16, Loras College basketball), Clare Slagel (2015-16, Luther College swimming).
 
About Johanna Olson
The IIAC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award is named in honor of the late Johanna Olson, a former cross country and track & field student-athlete at Luther College who was the inaugural recipient of the award. Olson battled brain cancer for over 15 years before her fight ended on January 3, 2013 at age 33. She was originally diagnosed with a brain tumor as a college freshman in 1997 but went on to win the 2000 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship three years to the day after her initial brain surgery. In addition to the national title in cross country, she won three Iowa Conference Individual Championships and three IIAC Most Valuable Runner awards (1999, 2000, 2001). In track and field, she was the 2001 IIAC Most Valuable Performer, earning All-America honors in the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs. Olson was also a member of the 2001 distance medley relay team that captured the indoor national title. She was named the United States Track Coaches Association (USTCA) regional and national Athlete of the Year in both cross country and track and field in 2000-01. In 1999, Olson was presented the Honda Awards Inspirational Athlete of the Year after returning from radiation treatments to compete at the national level.

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