Lynn Beatty, a star field hockey player who concluded her career at Arcadia University in December 2012, recently was awarded an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

The NCAA scholarships are awarded to graduating student-athletes in all three Divisions who have demonstrated excellence on and off the field during their undergraduate career, and are seeking to continue their education. Beatty, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry with a Pre-Physician Assistant concentration, will return to Arcadia in May 2013 to pursue a master’s degree in Medical Science through the University’s renowned Physician Assistant program.

“Lynn’s success in the classroom, her collaborative work with faculty, and her peer tutoring are examples of academic excellence Arcadia stresses to all its students,” said Dr. Steve O. Michael, Provost. “This scholarship not only celebrates these accomplishments, but also Lynn’s leadership development and prowess as a student-athlete. The University looks forward to Lynn continuing her educational career in the Physician Assistant program.”

Beatty helped turn around a field hockey team that went 5-12 during her freshman year to one that finished the 2012 season with a 15-6 record, which helped the Knights earn the distinction of Most Improved Team in Division III. She tallied 32 goals over her last two seasons, and during her senior season led the Knights to their first-ever trip to the Commonwealth Conference postseason tournament, which included a first-round win over Stevenson University and a last-second loss to 10th-ranked Messiah College. For her efforts this past year, Beatty was named to the All-Commonwealth second-team.

Over her career, Beatty received numerous University accolades, including the 2010 field hockey Coach’s Award and 2012 Quad A (Arcadia Athletics Alumni Association) Award for Character and Citizenship. She also was named the Arcadia University Junior Athlete of the Year and the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2012.

Academically, Beatty graduated a semester early, earning summa cum laude honors with a 3.90 grade-point-average, and was named to the Dean’s Distinguished Honors List four consecutive semesters. She also was selected to The Philadelphia Inquirer Field Hockey Academic All-Area Team, and served as an advanced tutor in mathematics and chemistry through the University’s Learning Resource Network.

Beatty served as both President and Community Service Coordinator of the University’s Honors Program Executive Board, spearheading campus-wide community service and social events such as Aid for Friends frozen dinners and breakfast bags, a cultural dinner night at Little Marakesh, and a peer mentor program for incoming Honors Students. She also found time to serve as a teaching assistant for Dr. Linda Mascavage’s organic chemistry class in the summer and fall of 2012, and helped research the Faraday Effect within the Chemistry and Physics departments. The research included performing trials on self-made solenoid and laser apparatus, culminating in her thesis, “The Faraday Effect: Exploring the Magneto-Optical Phenomenon.”

Through countless volunteer efforts and leadership roles, Beatty has given back much to Arcadia, the surrounding community and individuals in need around the world. From 2010 to 2012, she volunteered in the Pre-Med program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for eight hours a week, assisting doctors in various hospital units. She also volunteered in the Emergency Department at Doylestown Hospital and worked with disabled children at the Pegasus Riding Academy in Philadelphia, providing therapeutic activity and exercise.

Beatty’s commitment to service is perhaps best summed up by the 10 days she spent with the non-profit organization Hearts in Motion via Arcadia’s interdisciplinary course Service Learning in Guatemala. There, she worked alongside physicians in clinical settings in a remote, mountainous village in Zacapa to provide medical care for an impoverished community. Nationally, Beatty volunteered with Habitat for Humanity for an Alternative Spring Break program, where she secured hurricane straps and laid tiles in homes under construction for low-income families of migrant workers in Immokalee, Fla.

Photography by Josh Blustein