FIGUEROA
MAKES FAMU ATHLETICS HISTORY IN MEAC, NCAA BY [ Brian J. HOWARD ]
Florida A&M University alumna ALELEE FIGUEROA (ALL-A-LEE FIG-UR-ROA) achieved athletic history in 2020. The former women’s track & field standout was also named FAMU’s first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Woman of the Year. Her historic feat, however, did not end there – at the pinnacle of being named in June to the highest female academic honor by the conference. Figueroa was also selected from a record 605 school nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year honor. “Throughout her time at Florida A&M University, Alelee has shown time and time again her dedication to her academics and athletics,” said Nadia Alexander-Pompey, Head Rattler Women’s Track & Field Coach. “This is a win not just for her but [also] our track team, our university, and our conference. I hope that the rest of the team sees her success and uses it to fuel them to achieve more.”
“Being nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was very humbling,” said Figueroa. The NCAA Woman of the Year program is rooted in Title IX and has recognized graduating female college athletes for excellence in academics, athletics, community service and leadership since its inception in 1991. Figueroa, an Orlando native, advanced to the second phase of the NCAA Woman of the Year process in August as the group was narrowed to 161 nominees and, in September, was selected to the Top 30 honorees. “Being nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award was very humbling,” said Figueroa. “Reading into previous winners and all they have accomplished, as well as reaching out to fellow nominees, sparked a lot of inspiration. These women have excelled not only in athletics but also in the workplace, behind the podiums, on stages and so much more. To be counted in the number of women of such influence, who have continuously conquered in their collegiate career, was an honor.” Figueroa graduated in May with a 3.90 GPA
in criminal justice, with a concentration in prelaw studies. She finished with the highest GPA in both the Military Science Course 3 (MS3) and Military Science Course 4 (MS4) classes of the FAMU Army ROTC Rattler Battalion. She was a Distinguished Scholar awardee in 2016 and, in 2017, was named both a National Society of Collegiate Scholars inductee and a nutrition L.E.A.D.S. (Law Enforcement Advancing Data and Science) Scholar. Figueroa received notice in early October that she was not chosen as one of the nine finalists. ‘Although I was not selected as a finalist for the award being named a Top 30 Honoree was a blessing,” said Figueroa. “From those 30, I was one of only two nominees who came from an HBCU. Many of my accomplishments would not have been possible if I had not attended FAMU – an institution so welcoming that offered numerous opportunities for me to succeed.”
FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY // A&M MAGAZINE // 21
