Recent Wabash College graduate Adam El-Khalili ’23 and rising junior Luis Rivera ’25 were named 2023 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars by Diverse Issues in High Education magazine.
El-Khalili was a first-team selection in swimming and diving, while Rivera achieved first-team accolades in volleyball. They are the seventh and eighth Wabash student-athletes to be named an Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar since 2018.
A two-year team captain of the Little Giant swim team, El-Khalili posted four career bests in races this season. He helped the team score 1,264 points at the 2020 North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, the highest total in program history.
He has been active in and around the campus community, serving as the president of the Sphinx Club, He has helped underclassmen develop leadership skills through emotional intelligence training, and is a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, the Arabic Club, and the Center for Innovation, Business, and Entrepreneurship.
A financial economics major from West Lafayette, Indiana, El-Khalili has earned an Orr Fellowship from the State of Indiana and will receive executive mentorship and participate in a curriculum designed to develop understanding and skills vital to entrepreneurship and business leadership.
“Adam is such a deserving person for this award,” said Will Bernhard, head swimming and diving coach. “He served our team and campus as a leader in all aspects of his academic and athletic endeavors. He has an incredible work ethic and selflessly helps others in countless ways each day. Adam’s high character and leadership skills certainly made our team better, but more importantly, his influence has made Wabash a better place.”
In his second year as a libero on the Wabash volleyball team, Luis Rivera was a 2022 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League all-academic selection as a freshman, playing in 63 of 69 sets for the Little Giants. He led the team with 139 digs (2.21/s) while adding two kills and 18 assists. In 2023, he averaged 1.29 digs per game to go with eight kills and six assists in 13 appearances.
Rivera helped Wabash College’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee create an education program on Diversity and Inclusion for new members of fraternities; he aided in campus-specific Safe Space training to support an environment of safety and inclusivity; and he led a fundraising initiative in the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity to raise money for children’s Christmas gifts through Project REINdeer in Crawfordsville.
He collaborated with the Dean of Students' Office and the Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to bring Bystander Intervention, Implicit Bias, and Conflict De-Escalation training to campus; served as a Blood Drive Program Leader with the American Red Cross; and has served as the secretary, diversity and inclusion chairman, and external vice president and philanthropy chair for his fraternity.
Rivera was elected to the Student Senate in January 2022, occupied leadership positions with the campus Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Mental Health Concerns Committee, and is President of 'shOUT, the College’s gay-straight alliance.
A three-time Dean's List honoree and a psychology major from Wake Forest, North Carolina, Rivera earned the 2022
Dr. Paul T. Hurt Award for All-Around Freshman Achievement at Wabash College, given each year to a deserving freshman student in recognition of all-around achievement in his first year at Wabash College. A Presidential Scholarship recipient, he is also a Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse (WDPD) fellow, speech tutor, and a member of the Wabash Liberal Arts Immersion Program (WLAIP), Gender Issues Committee, and Sons of Wabash.
“Luis Rivera inspires me,” said Jill Lamberton, associate professor of English and special assistant to the president for diversity, equity, and inclusion. “In the classroom, he listens to others before he speaks, but when he does speak, his comments have a way of pushing all of us to think harder, to see a bigger picture. As a campus leader, he emphasizes bringing people together. Luis works to enact the change he wants to see on campus, and I love working with him because he doesn’t only critique, he also builds. He exudes optimism and warmth without being naïve. He is so deserving; I couldn’t be more proud of him for earning this recognition.”
Since 1992, Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars have demonstrated stellar athletic ability and academic performance (3.5 cumulative GPA or higher), in addition to a commitment to community service and student leadership. The award is inspired by tennis legend Arthur Ashe Jr.'s dedication to education as well as his love for the game of tennis.
This spring, Reis Thomas ’23, a standout track and field performer at Wabash College, was named a finalist for the 2023 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar of the Year from nearly 1,000 nominations. He was joined by tennis player Alvaro Alonso-Sanchez ’23, who was selected as a semifinalist for the honor.
Wabash was one of two institutions across all NCAA divisions to have two semifinalists for the award, joining the University of Nebraska.