Malia Hee, KLN ‘18, recently received the Elite 90 award for the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Fencing Championship. The award recognizes highly skilled athletes for their academic achievement. Hee, with a 4.0 GPA, certainly qualifies.
But those who speak of her don’t just call attention to her academic prowess or her abilities as a sabre fencer. They all refer to her modesty as well.
Da’mon Merkerson, assistant director at the Resnick Academic Support Center for student-athletes, served as her advisor. “Her approach to fencing and academics is fierce,” he said. “When you see her study and prepare, you can see her intensity. Yet she has a humbleness about her too.”
The award was given out at the 2018 NCAA Fencing Championships at Penn State University. Her coach, Nikki Franke, was there with Hee when she received the award. She and other administration officials made sure not to tell her that she was nominated, which made the win even more of a shock.
“It was a definite surprise,” Hee said. “I was shaking the whole time.”
She also prevailed among some of the top schools in the nation, including: Harvard, Princeton, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, New York University and others.
“To be among the list of schools represented is outstanding,” Justin Miller, senior associate athletic director for Academic and Career Services for the Resnick Academic Support Center. “This is our first recipient and it’s very exciting.”
Not only did Hee win the championship’s award, she also came in 13th place among 144 fencers in the competition.
This is partially due the fact that she began fencing when she was 6 years old, inspired by her older sister. Her worried mother begged her not to do it, but Hee said she was determined. Finally, Hee’s coach at the time convinced her mother that if she was so interested in the sport, she should give it a try. These days, her mom has stopped worrying and Hee has a passion for the sport.
“It’s a basically game of chess,” Hee said. “You always have to have a plan beforehand. I like the mental game.”
Now, she gets some time to bask in her victory but it’s only a few weeks before she has to start training all over again.
“Malia is a wonderful lady,” said Franke, a fellow fencer, who competed in the 1976 and 1980 Olympics. “She is a serious student who works very hard and a fantastic athlete.”
Hee, an advertising major, plans on working for a sport apparel brand after college and said she would consider returning to west coast—potentially to Portland, Oregon, her hometown.
In her Introduction to Marketing course, Hee’s grade currently stands at 104/100, thanks to her outstanding work and some extra credit. Her professor, Jan Gera, owner of Gera Media Consulting, thinks any company would be lucky to hire her.
“She’s well spoken. She’s clear in her intent. And she’s a professional,” Gera said. “What she writes for my course, I could show to any company in the world.”