Medical student at OUWB nominated for 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year

A first-year medical student at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine is nominated to be the 2025 NCAA Woman of the Year.

Grace Nolan is one of two representatives nominated from the Horizon League, which includes Oakland University. (There is one other Horizon League nominee from Cleveland State University.)

According to its website, the NCAA Woman of the Year program honors the academic achievements, athletic excellence, community services and leadership of graduating female college athletes. The winner is expected to be announced during the fall season.

Nolan excelled on Oakland University's cross-country team - among other achievements, earlier this year she set a Horizon League outdoor championship record for the 10K. As an undergrad and graduate student, she also maintained a high standard of academic achievement and service to the community.

Nolan was nominated by Jennifer Swiatowy, associate athletic director for administration/senior woman administrator, OU Athletics.

"Of all the athletes that have walked through these doors, Grace has touched my heart more than anyone," says Swiatowy. "It has truly been the greatest pleasure of my career to watch her grow."

Nolan says she was "surprised" at the nomination and that "it definitely feels really good."

"Especially coming off of last year and last season…I was really proud of it," she says. "I'm honored that my hard work paid off…not only as an athlete but as a leader, as a student and a community member."

Finding a stride

Nolan grew up in Clarkston, Michigan, and was always involved in sports - gymnastics, soccer, softball, and cross country. In high school, she "went all in on running" and not only helped lead Clarkston to a state title but also made it to the national meet in indoor track and became an All-American.

"I've always enjoyed cross country because it's more of a collaboration," she says. "Plus, you are surrounded by people who are uniting over this really difficult thing. You bond over going through that together."

She set her sights on competing in college.

Nolan says Oakland offered her a scholarship and - as someone who always wanted a career in medicine - the school's "biomedical science program really caught my eye."

For the first two years at OU, however, she had to take medical time away from the sport. It was her third year that she returned to training and competing - and she found her stride and went on the earn Cross Country All-League First Team honors three times. (Because she attended graduate school, Nolan was still able to compete for four years.)

Her career was capped with an epic performance last April at the Horizon League outdoor championship, where she bested the league's previous 10K record by more than 30 seconds.

"Honestly, it was like a fairy tale ending," she says with a smile.

'The best endorphin hit'

Though running is a huge part of Nolan's life, academics and service also play significant roles.

As an OUWB student, Nolan is working on her third degree from Oakland. While working on a bachelor's degree in biomedical science and Master of Public Health, she made it to the Horizon League Conference All-Academic Team seven times. She was on the OU President's List of scholars every year, a Platinum Presidential Scholar, and in 2021, received the Provost Student Research Award to fund her undergraduate research project.

Further, Swiatowy says that Nolan's "passion for community service sets her apart." In 2022, she was awarded the OU Student Activities and Leadership Award for Outstanding Volunteer Student. She's volunteered with organizations like Michigan Senior Olympics, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, Lighthouse of Oakland County, Girls on the Run, and organized winter wellness care packages at a local hospital.

Nolan also is a past recipient of the Horizon League's Cecil N. Coleman Medal of Honor, one of only four from OU who have received the award since 1981. The award is considered the league's most prestigious individual honor and given to top student-athletes who demonstrate outstanding achievement in academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities.

"Grace will tell you she is grateful for her time (at Oakland), but it is Oakland and the people here who are lucky to know Grace," says Swiatowy. "I know that I am lucky to have crossed paths with her."

Nolan says she still runs daily - a "regular day" means fitting in eight to 10 miles before class at OUWB, and she is training for her first marathon.

"I'm really proud of the way my NCAA career ended, but I also was left very hungry for more," she says. "I still have that fire to keep chasing after a goal that's outside of medicine because that's the main goal driving my life right now."

"Plus, it's the best endorphin hit to get going with school," she says. "It's like 'All right, let's go, I can lock in on this anatomy now."

Nolan says that starting in middle school, she was drawn to the medical field and explored different career options.

She says her interest in becoming a doctor was solidified while attending a summer pathway program hosted by OUWB in 2018. The experience helped her understand what a career in medicine might look like.

"I did that camp, and I was like 'Yes, this is awesome,'" she says. "And I think it's pretty cool that it was an OU camp because I had no idea I would end up at OUWB."

Calling the Oakland University campus "home to me," Nolan says when the opportunity came for her to attend OUWB, "it just felt right."

As part of the OUWB Class of 2029, Nolan started medical school in August - the latest example of how Nolan achieves her goals.

"My friends and I used to walk on campus and see the OUWB backpacks, and I would think to myself, 'One day I might get to wear one of those,'" she says.

"And now I do," she grins.

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, senior marketing specialist, OUWB, at [email protected].

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.

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