LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Each year the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics awards two national student-athlete academic achievement awards that recognize an individual student-athlete's scholarship, character and academic achievement. In 2014, Christine Tixier was a finalist for one of those prestigious honors.
 
The A.O. Duer Scholarship Award is given to one male and one female junior student-athlete who has excelled in scholarship, character and citizenship. Tixier was selected as a finalist for the award as a representative of Biola and the Golden State Athletic Conference.
 
Tixier was the perfect candidate to be considered for the award because she excels in all of the necessary categories. She is a standout in the classroom as a Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American and NAIA Scholar-Athlete. Tixier has earned a 3.81 cumulative GPA to date while studying human biology.
 
She also excels in the pool, with five individual NAIA National Championships to her name, an NAIA Female Swimmer of the Year award and countless school and national records. Her mentoring of fellow teammates and participation in team building activities help her exhibit excellence in citizenship.
 
Proof of Tixier's character comes in the way she interacts with members of opposing teams, officials and her teammates.
 
"If you spent time with Christine you would never know she was the NAIA Female Swimmer of the Year," said Head Coach Eddie Shepard. "She is so humble and unassuming about her swimming talents."
 
The award was ultimately presented by Daktronics to a junior track and field student-athlete from Carroll College (Mt.) who earned a cumulative GPA of 4.0 while studying health science.