Basketball Great Medina Dixon Joins the Young Women Leaders of Tomorrow Program

April 09, 2007

OLYMPIC MEDALIST AND BOSTON NATIVE LENDS HER SUPPORT TO DIRECT FEDERAL CREDIT UNION’S SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Needham, MA – Olympic medalist Medina Dixon, who currently lives in Dorchester, is lending her support to the Young Women Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship program. The program was created by Direct Federal Credit Union with the goal of recognizing today’s female athletes and tomorrow’s leaders.  The program focuses on high school female athletes that participate in field hockey, ice hockey, basketball, or softball in either the Bay State Conference or the Tri-Valley League of Massachusetts.  The high school coaches, principals and athletic directors will help evaluate and choose the recipients that best exemplify leadership by displaying discipline, commitment and teamwork on their specific teams.  More than sixty $1,000 scholarships are then awarded to the chosen athletes. Dixon joins other successful athletes- including basketball’s Rebecca Lobo, ice hockey’s Cammi Granato, field hockey’s Megan Donnelly and Dina Rizzo, and baseball/softball’s Mary Pratt and Danielle Henderson - in supporting this program.

“This community has given me so much and now I want to give back by teaching girls about basketball and life,” said Dixon, who is very involved with charitable work.  “This program is a great way to recognize female athletes and to encourage them to become leaders on and off the court.” 

Dixon attended Old Dominion University, where she was an NCAA All-America selection in 1985. That same year, ODU also won the NCAA Championship.  She went on to play for the U.S. National Team, which won the World Championship in 1990, and then two years later, won a bronze medal in Barcelona as a member of the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team.  In 2005, Dixon was selected to the Sun Belt Conference All-Time Women’s Basketball Team, which was compiled of the best players from the league’s 30-year history. 

“We’re excited to have a successful athlete like Dixon support the Young Women Leaders of Tomorrow program,” said Jean Geiwitz, Direct Federal’s Senior Vice President of Marketing and Operations. “Her commitment to the community and our program will serve as a great example for young female athletes to follow.”

In addition to awarding scholarships, the program has also purchased new uniforms for several high school teams and the program will be hosting an awards dinner on May 24th, at which time the winners will be awarded their scholarships.