Kristen Giles of Drake women's golf has been named a 2023 Missouri Valley Conference postgraduate scholarship winner. The Missouri Valley Conference Faculty Athletics Representatives Committee voted to award postgraduate scholarships to the four student-athletes, due to their exemplary academic and athletic performances. Each will receive a $5,000 postgraduate scholarship from the Conference.

Giles maintained a 4.0 cumulative GPA in Drake's Doctor of Pharmacy program while earning Medalist honors at the MVC Golf Championships in 2022 and was runner-up after a two-hole playoff in 2023.  In 2021-2022, she earned the Howlett Award which recognizes the top athlete at Drake. Drake's 2021-2022 Female Athlete of the Year, she was a standout golfer for the Bulldogs, earning All-Tournament Team honors in both 2022 and 2023 and All-Conference honors this past spring. Giles earned selection to the MVC Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete First Team three times and was a four-time Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar. She hopes to pursue a Post Grad Year-I (PGY-1) residency in a hospital setting and continue her education at Drake.

To be eligible for consideration, recipients must have achieved a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.40, participated with distinction in a Missouri Valley Conference championship sport for at least two seasons at the nominating institution and must graduate from their institutions within 18 months following selection at the spring meetings of the Faculty Athletics Representative Committee.  

Also, the recipients must be accepted for postgraduate studies at an institution of higher learning at the time of receipt of the scholarship. And, the recipients must have completed eligibility for participation in intercollegiate athletics in the academic year in which nominated.