Fanny Wadling of the University of Maine women’s basketball team is among three student-athletes who have been recognized as 2020 Outstanding Graduating Students at the university.
Joining Wadling in receiving the honor are women’s swimmer Ines Khiyara and women’s soccer player Beate Naglestad.
Wadling, from Nacka, Sweden, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Education and Human Development. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and physical education, with a minor in business administration, and a concentration in exercise science.
Wadling plans to return next fall as a graduate student and compete in her final season for the Black Bears. She missed all of last season with post-concussion symptoms.
She is a two-time America East All-Academic Team selection and has twice been named to Team Maine for achieving the highest individual GPA on the women’s basketball team. Wadling also earned the 2019 America East Elite 18 award, which recognizes the student-athlete with the highest GPA competing in the championship game for both high academic and athletic achievements.
Khiyara, of Crisnée, Belgium, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the College of Engineering. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, and has a minor in environmental engineering.
Khiyara was a three-year member of the swim team and received multiple scholar-athlete awards. She also won an International Presidential Scholarship and the Richard E. Durst Scholarship.
Khiyara served as a peer tutor, and a youth and adult swim coach. Her undergraduate research experience included work on the Duchenne muscular dystrophy zebrafish model using label-free microscopy tools to characterize sarcomere length. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in biomedical engineering.
Naglestad, a native of Oppegard, Norway, is the Outstanding Graduating International Student in the Maine Business School. She will receive a bachelor’s degree in business administration in management, with a minor in international affairs.
Naglestad garnered several student-athlete awards as a member of the women’s soccer team and served as captain during her senior year. She also received the Academic Achievement in Management award. She served as a peer tutor and was a team representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.
Naglestad has applied to graduate school at the University of Oslo to study organization, leadership and employment.