Midland native receives top academic award at Michigan State

MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) - Dow High graduate Nehemiah Mork had a wildly successful athletic and academic career at Michigan State University.

And Mork, a senior who is about to graduate from Michigan State with a degree in mechanical engineering, capped that career recently by earning the President’s Award, the highest academic honor at MSU.

“It’s a tremendous honor,” Mork told the Midland Daily News. “I was really excited and humbled for being picked. It was something I was looking at since freshman year when I heard it was a thing, and I set that goal.”

The President’s Award is given to the male and female graduating senior with the highest cumulative grade-point averages and who have exhausted their eligibility and completed their degree in the current academic year. Four Spartan athletes - volleyball’s Samantha McLean, soccer’s Julia Crowe, Mork and his teammate Scott Piper - all finished with 4.0 grade-point averages.

Mork, known by his nickname, “Nemo,” said it was a great experience to work for the award alongside Piper. The two were on the same recruiting trip, had several classes together, and worked together to study while maintaining a friendly competition throughout the years.

“We’re always rooting for each other,” Mork said. “One person would say, ‘I don’t think I’m going to 4-point in this class,’ then the other would say, ‘No, man, let’s figure it out, and we’ll study together.’ In the back of my mind, (I knew that) if he slips, then I’ll be the only one to get it (the award). But in the end, I’m just glad to share that with him. He deserves it.”

The athletes were eager to celebrate their accomplishments with one another, but the annual gala for the awards was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the winners were announced online on April 13.

During his four years in East Lansing, Mork was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar, maintaining a 4.0 GPA while majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in computer science. Mork made the Dean’s List each semester and won the program’s Scholar-Athlete Award.

Mork said he will be attending Georgia Tech University to pursue his doctorate in mechanical engineering.

In the pool, Mork lettered each of his four years and holds a school record in both the 200-yard and 400-yard freestyle relays. Mork additionally represented MSU as the team’s Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner and was named the Michigan State Student-Athlete of the Month in January.

Mork gave a speech to his teammates to wrap up his time with the Spartans. He thought back throughout his time swimming competitively, and he remembered starting swimming because it was fun for him.

“I continued to do it because I love it,” Mork said. “I never expected to end up at a Division I school.”

Before Mork was an All-Stater both athletically and academically at Dow, he was homeschooled and swam on club teams in the area after taking up the sport as a seven-year-old. He said the level of competition was more for fun at the start, but that changed when he was 11 and he cut out other sports to specialize in swimming.

During his time at Dow, Mork was the Saginaw Valley League Swimmer of the Year during his sophomore, junior and senior seasons, won Division 2 state titles in the 50-yard and 100-yard freestyle his junior and senior years, and earned All-State and All-SVL honors all four years with the Chargers.

His transition from homeschool to Dow paid off well for Mork. He said he drew attention from Michigan State head coach Matt Gianiodis and associate head coach Kathleen Milloy, and they offered him the opportunity to swim at the top collegiate level with the Spartans. As he is set to graduate in May, Mork said he is beyond thankful for the chance to swim in the Big Ten with MSU.

“It was an honor to not only compete with the team but to get records,” Mork said. “I never expected that in my entire life. I wasn’t just being a participant. I was being a scoring person for the team, I was on the podium at the Big Ten Championships, and my name is on the record board at MSU. That’s something I’m just so thankful for and I would have never expected. It’s been an incredible journey.”

Gianiodis said the balance to be both a great student and great athlete is often underappreciated. He said Mork embodies some of the top character traits of someone who has found that balance. Gianiodis said Mork has the drive, discipline, and willingness to sacrifice to be successful in life, and he will be able to carry that from MSU to Georgia Tech.

To have two of his guys win the President’s Award was a great experience for Gianiodis.

“To watch it play out the way it did (over four years) was really amazing,” Gianiodis said. “You have two kids who come in together, on the same team, both 4.0 students, and I’m thrilled for both of them. In Nemo’s case, particularly, I know there was a lot of hard work that went into it to get those grades and do what he did athletically.

“He’s a bright kid and has a lot of gifts. The work he put into it - he earned it.”

Gianiodis said Mork’s contributions athletically were invaluable to the program. But more importantly, Mork became a mentor for the younger guys and led by example.

“You can point to him and say, ‘There’s a guy who’s doing it the right way,’” Gianiodis said. “He would also be the guy to put his arm around someone and take them under his wing and show them how to get the job done in a great way. One thing we take pride in at MSU is when you have local kids, from Michigan, come here and do well. It certainly enhances our reputation across the state.

“His accomplishments at Michigan State are invaluable to us, and we’re just really appreciative of his work ethic and everything he did here.”

Mork said the support he has felt from the Midland community has been a help to him during his time both at Dow and MSU.

“I’d like to thank them all for their words of encouragement and their support, coming to my swim meets and cheering me on from wherever they might be,” Mork said.

For fellow student-athletes, Mork’s message to them is to believe big. He said he never thought about the goal of swimming at the Division I level, but his hard work and determination put him at MSU and on the podium at the Big Ten Championships.

One of his favorite quotes is “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

“Athletics is something you do; it’s not who you are,” Mork said. “Too many people put their value in athletic performance. You should take enjoyment from your sport and not let it affect how you view your self-worth.”