SAN DIEGO – Senior water polo driver Spencer Samuel was recently honored for her work in the classroom when she received a total of $12,500 in tuition assistance from the College Football Playoff (CFP) Foundation and Dr Pepper. The assistance is part of a Go Teach Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway program that supports student-athletes looking to become teachers.
"Spencer practices leadership in education every day for our team," Aztec head coach Carin Crawford said. "It was thrilling for all of us to see her recognized at a national level by the CFP and Dr Pepper and to have that check in her hand. I know she will make an impact in the future as a teacher, educator or coach."
The Go Teach Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway includes all 10 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conferences plus Notre Dame. Over $425,000 in tuition was awarded and approximately 125 students received a $2,500 tuition grant. One grand-prize winner per conference, 10 in all, were also awarded $10,000 in additional tuition assistance. Samuel received a $2,500 grant and was the Mountain West's $10,000 grand-prize winner.
The Go Teach Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway, which launched in 2020, supports the CFP Foundation's effort to grow the Go Teach initiative to place qualified teachers in classrooms across the nation. Together, Dr Pepper in partnership with the CFP Foundation, provides the ten FBS conferences (American, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, SEC and Sun Belt), as well as Notre Dame, with resources that support and recognize student-athletes pursuing careers in education.
Samuel, a product of San Diego's Valhalla High School, had a breakout season last year. In 22 games she notched career-highs in goals (22), assists (21) steals (17), ejections drawn (25) and blocks (7). Her assists ranked second on the team, while her goals, shots (58) & points (43) ranked third. She finished the year ranked No. 5 in assists, No. 8 in points and No. T-8 in steals in the Golden Coast Conference (GCC).
In the classroom, she was named a GCC all-academic team member for the third time in three, was recognized for the second time by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches (ACWPC) with inclusion on its all-academic teams and has been recognized twice as an Aztec Scholar-Athlete.
Samuel and the Aztecs open the 2022 season in Honolulu, Hawaii on Jan. 14 versus the Rainbow Wahine and then compete in the Rainbow Invitational on Jan. 15 & 16.
-SDSU-