Philadelphia University Lacrosse Star Awarded Fulbright Scholarship

By Matt Leon

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) --- Libby Nichols just recently wrapped up an outstanding career playing lacrosse at Division II Philadelphia University.

She was her conference's Player of the Year as a senior this season. As successful as she has been on the field, her academic pursuits are even more impressive.

Nichols, who graduated pre-med, was recently awarded a prestigious Fulbright scholarship.

Fulbright is an international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Government, so Nichols is set to spend 10 months in Germany where she will study the cognitive effects of heading a ball on youth soccer players.

"I'm going to be giving them a neuro-cognitive test before a practice or a game, and then I'll sit there and I'll count the exact number of headers that my participants take and then give them the same test directly afterwards and see if there's a difference," said Nichols. "Really do a lot of repetitions of this project."

Nichols is the third Philadelphia University Fulbright award winner in the last five years.

In:
• Delaware Valley
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• Germany
• Philadelphia