Postgraduate Scholarship
The Letterwinners M Club established its Postgraduate Scholarship in 2012 (with the cooperation of the University of Michigan Athletic Department), for continued support of student-athletes and alumni in their career and personal development.Through this annual program, Michigan Varsity Letterwinners may qualify for all or a portion of a Letterwinners M Club $10,000 scholarship. Scholarships are one-time, nonrenewable grants to cover the cost of tuition. They are paid by the Letterwinners M Club directly to the institution in which the recipient is enrolled for graduate study.
Applicants must have applied to or been accepted to an accredited institution for the purpose of pursuing an advanced degree. The Letterwinners M Club scholarship may not be deferred. The selection committee will consider all applicants and choose winners based on academic merit, history of service to the University of Michigan and community, and career potential.
PLEASE NOTE: This scholarship is only available to student-athletes that will or have exhausted their eligibility at the conclusion of the Winter 2023 term.
2022 Postgraduate Scholarship Winner
One of the most anxious times in a young person’s life is heading off to college. Brianna (Broderick) Portmann is all too familiar with this feeling. As a first-year student-athlete in the fall of 2003 she had those feelings; self-doubt and questioning her own academic efficacy. And now she is on a mission to help others who have those same feelings.
Brianna had the type of athletic career at Michigan that anyone would envy. In her four years in the Maize and Blue she never missed a tournament – 47 straight – and was celebrated at every turn. Her on-course achievements fill the page: All-Big Ten, Academic All-Big Ten, Golf World Top 50, co-captain, Spirit Award, medalist titles, team titles, low rounds, and the list goes on.
While finishing her undergraduate degree, Brianna served as an assistant coach for the Wolverines. An internship at the United States Golf Association coordinating the Kansas City Junior Tour followed her coaching debut. In 2008, the Golden Flashes of Kent State University benefitted from Brianna as an assistant coach when they won the Mid-American Conference and made an NCAA Regional appearance.
But the Richmond, Missouri native was called back home. In 2009 Brianna was named Head Coach for Women’s Golf at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. For 12 years the Roos of UMKC flourished under Portmann’s tutelage. Each year the team competed in the top level of the WAC.
The final tally of Brianna’s influence was 16 WGCA All-American Scholars, 15 Academic All-Conference selections, and 14 All-Conference selections.
In 2016, Brianna’s hard work toward her longer-term aspirations took a big step. She was awarded a Master’s Degree in Higher Education Administration from UMKC. She has spent countless hours as the First Semester Experience Impact Coordinator, each year working with over 1,500 undergraduate students helping them coordinate their out-of-classroom education and lives. While coordinating with many, many parts of the university, it is this role that she has been preparing for since her first fall in Ann Arbor. It is this calling that she has answered with what her mentors and contemporaries have described as “collaborative” and “engaged”, “respectful” and “empowering”. Her work in the field will have a long-term and lasting effect on students and the university. And though her work is focused at UMKC, we certainly hope she brings her impactful program to the campuses at the University of Michigan one day.
The University of Michigan Letterwinners M Club Postgraduate Scholarship will allow Brianna to have the time and focus to finish her dissertation. Her ability to gather data and finalize research, and ultimately spend the necessary time for her writings is essential.
And now, in the Spring of 2023, we look forward to congratulating and welcoming Dr. Brianna Portmann, Ed.D.
2022 Brianna (Broderick) Portmann, Women's Golf
2021 Katherine Foug, Women's Soccer
2019 Noah Kleedtke, Men's Soccer
2018 Michael Hendrickson, Baseball
2017 Mary Grace Pellegrini, Women's Track & Field
2016 Andrew Yeager, Men's Golf
2015 Nick Thomas, Men's Track & Field
2014 Amol Mepani, Football
2014 Catherine Nosal, Women's Swimming & Diving
2014 Katherine Perry
2013 Zachary Ciullo, Football
2012 Arianne Perry, Women's Track & Cross Country
Only Michigan Varsity Letterwinners from the Ann Arbor campus may apply and all applicants must have applied to or been accepted to an accredited institution for the purpose of pursuing an advanced degree. This scholarship may not be deferred.
The Nominations & Awards Committee of the Letterwinners M Club will consider all applicants and choose winner(s) based on academic merit, history of service to the University of Michigan and community, and career potential.
All applications are due by March 15, 2023.