BYU senior Munguia named 2018 Rising Star Award winner

Kansas City — BYU senior Emma Munguia, a member of the BYU cheer squad, was named a 2018 recipient of the Rising Star Award by Women Leaders in College Sports, the nation’s premier women’s athletic leadership association that develops, connects, and advances women working in intercollegiate athletics. 

The Rising Star Award recognizes junior or senior undergraduate, graduate, interns or volunteers who aspire to a career in intercollegiate athletics, and who demonstrate high-level leadership roles on campus, in a conference office, an organization or in the community.

Munguia will graduate in April from BYU with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. She maintained a 3.5 GPA while being active in athletic competitions, student organizations and serving in various leadership roles in her local church congregation. Munguia was a part of the BYU cheerleading team for three seasons from 2015-18. She was an active participant in all aspects of the sport and overcame numerous injuries to continue participating. 

“Emma is a remarkable young woman who has a desire to make college athletics—and the world—a better place and has the vision, intelligence, communication skills, leadership, and empathy to actually do it,” said her nominator, Liz Darger, BYU senior associate athletic director/SWA. 

In addition to BYU cheer, Munguia was involved in several student organizations and worked as an intern to the athletics department this past semester. She served on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee as well as the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In addition to her role on the Inclusion Committee, Munguia was involved in an inclusion-based student-athlete assembly as a coordinator in planning the event. She also played a key role in developing a new mental health outreach campaign at BYU.

Following graduation, Munguia will be interning with BYU athletics working on diversity, inclusion and gender equity initiatives where she hopes to continue to make a difference in the lives of the student-athletes at BYU.

Rising Star Award recipients receive a scholarship to attend the 2018 Women Leaders National Convention, held October 14-16, in Atlanta, Georgia. The National Convention is the premier conference for women working in intercollegiate athletics, offering leadership, professional development, industry training and networking opportunities. Other recipients of the 2018 Rising Star Award include Sheridan Blandford (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Sydney Moman (University of Cincinnati).

"We are excited to recognize these outstanding young women leaders,” says Patti Phillips, Women Leaders in College Sports chief executive officer. “These women are the future of the college athletics industry, and their commitment and passion make them shining examples of what’s to come. I can’t wait to see the impact they continue to make!”