Athena Tessa Dover '11
Awarded Southern California
Broadcasters Scholarship

Athena Tessa Dover '11 was recently awarded the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Tom Harmon/Jerry Clark Scholarship. Dover has accomplished an astonishing amount during her time at CMC, excelling in swimming, water polo, and academics. Dover is a 3-time SCIAC champion and SCIAC record holder and All-American in the 200 backstroke, as well as a College Swimming Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) Scholar-All American.
In the 2009-2010 academic year, Dover received the Elite 88 award at the women's swimming and diving championships, which honors the student athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at finals for each of the NCAA's national championships. During her almost four years at Claremont McKenna, she has earned a perfect 4.0 grade point average, demonstrating not only an enviable work ethic but also a love for learning.
Dover is majoring in psychology and legal studies, with a gender/women's studies sequence. She has contributed greatly to the psychology department, earning a research fellowship from CMC and conducting research herself. Her papers have been presented at conferences in Miami, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Additionally, she spent one summer working with government agencies in Costa Rica.
While balancing coursework and sports, Dover interns at the Children's School on campus, assisting the preschool students. She also tutors at Pomona College and serves as a head writing consultant at the CMC Writing Center.
With the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Tom Harmon/Jerry Clark Scholarship, Dover plans to attend graduate school in social psychology, a field in which she has enthusiastically explored at CMC. She is particularly interested in stigma, stereotypes, and discrimination. As part of her senior thesis, Dover has already conducted research on understanding the effects of perceived discrimination and stereotypes on academic performance and identification with one's group.
Claremont McKenna's director of athletics and physical education, Mike Sutton, could not be more proud of Dover's accomplishments, stating, "Tessa is a remarkable woman among so many very talented young people." --Katherine Wernet '11