LANCASTER, Pa. – After being awarded one of 20 NCAA Division III Ethnic Minority and Women’s Internship Grants, the Centennial Conference today announced the hiring of Jessica Porter as Assistant to the Executive Director. 

The highly desired and prestigious grant provides funding for entry-level administrative positions at Division III institutions and conference offices to encourage access, recruitment, selection and the long-term success of ethnic minorities and women. 

A 2016 graduate of Gettysburg College, Porter graduated Cum Laude with a double major in Organization and Management Studies and Religious Studies, as well as a minor in business. She earned membership in Pi Lambda Sigma, the national pre-legal and business honor society, and Theta Alpha Kappa, the national honor society for religious studies.

Porter, a native of Narberth, Pa., spent the last 10 months in Dublin, Ireland, as a Victory Scholar through the Sport Changes Life organization. She earned her masters degree in marketing at Trinity College Dublin, while also playing semi-professional basketball with the Meteors club team in Ireland’s Women’s Premiere League. Porter also volunteered as a basketball coach for youth in underprivileged communities.

As an undergrad, she was an All-Centennial performer for the Bullets, earning Conference Rookie of the Year honors in 2013. She scored 1,185 points, collected 650 rebounds and blocked 126 shots in her four seasons at Gettysburg. Porter was named second-team All-CC as a freshman while garnering first-team recognition in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, she was a three-time Centennial Conference Academic Honor Roll member, recipient of Gettysburg’s Avil Bryant Award for Service Beyond Self Athlete in 2015, and honored with the Centennial’s Sportsmanship Award in 2016. 

 “We are thrilled to welcome Jessica back to the Centennial,” said Executive Director Steve Ulrich. “Out of the numerous applications we received and candidates we spoke with, her background, skill set and enthusiasm made her a perfect fit for the position. Jessica will be an asset to the Conference and we are fortunate to have her on our team.”

The Centennial is one of just two Division III conferences to receive the grant twice since 2014 (Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference). Additionally, only two institutions – Bridgewater (Va.) and Macalester (Minn.) Colleges – have received the grant twice over that same span.