“
Forever Go Blue.” Those three words
are often used to communicate what
cannot truly be defined by words: fierce
love for the University and its community,
the love that wide-eyed Wolverine-under-
lings only glimpse at orientation and even-
tually build through every late night cram
session, every unexpected friendship and
every game day throughout their time here.
Until once the tassel switches sides, we can’t
think to say anything else. Some students
take that slogan to heart, caring about the
University so much that they continue on
here after receiving their degrees — students
like David Moore.
In 2014, Moore received a BSE in mechan-
ical engineering in the top 3 percent of his
class. He also swam for the NCAA champi-
onship-winning men’s varsity swim team,
serving as captain during his senior year.
After graduating, Moore returned to the
University last fall to complete a Masters in
Mechanical Engineering. Now that he’s no
longer on the swim team, he has used his free
time to soak up every bit of Ann Arbor and
Michigan before he flies across the pond to
study at the University of Oxford on a pres-
tigious Rhodes scholarship. He is one of the
32 Rhodes scholars selected from 877 nomi-
nees in 2015 and the only one representing
the University. He plans to use his first year
of studies to get a Masters in Environmental
Change and Management and an MBA in his
second.
Sound daunting? Maybe, maybe not.
Moore approaches learning from a broad
perspective.
“I don’t want to limit myself to just work-
ing on one small aspect of this larger prob-
lem of affecting people around the world,” he
said. “I want to think about the whole chain
of events that needs to happen in order to
achieve that.”
His end-goal is to design innovative,
sustainable technology that can help solve
some of the world’s biggest problems. Dur-
ing his undergraduate years, he was heavily
involved with the Tauber Institute and Engi-
neering Global Leadership honors program.
Through these experiences, he was able to
supplement his skills designing and develop-
ing products with manufacturing and opera-
tions acumen. He believes his future plans
of study will “complete that perspective of
design, operations, and business as a whole.”
But amid all of his academic and profes-
sional successes, Moore said a competitive
drive will stay close to his heart.
“I’d say that I’m an athlete in all aspects
of my life,” he said. “I compete, and I learn,
I dedicate, and I set goals, and I would not
have been able to achieve nearly as much as
I have if I was not in athletics, especially at
Michigan.”
Perhaps the most obvious effect of athlet-
ics lies in Moore’s unending dedication to
community and teamwork. When speaking
about anything — dealing with the pressure
to maintain the swim team’s tradition of
excellence while he was captain, the motiva-
tions behind his career goals — everything
starts and ends with other people.
“I came to Michigan extremely motivated
and ready to do really well individually,” he
said. “I wanted to get all As, I wanted to join
the swim team and do well with them, but
the biggest place that I’ve grown is realizing
that it’s not about me, it’s about the people
that I affect along the way. My goal-setting
has changed from … ‘What I want to do?’ to
‘How can I help other people become the
best person they can be?’ ”
His term as captain was a way of giving
back. His work as a graduate student instruc-
tor helping students learn design and manu-
facturing in Mechanical Engineering 250,
his favorite undergraduate course, is a way
of giving back. When I asked him if he had
anything he’d like to end on, this is the advice
he’s giving back to all of us still bumbling our
way through undergrad:
“Enjoy every minute you have here.
There’s no way I could ever give back nearly
as much as what Michigan’s gave me. Every
day I walk by the flag on top of the Union,
and it just makes me smile and I know this
place will always be my home.”
During campus tours for prospective stu-
dents, tour guides take groups to the Union
steps, where they point out carvings above
the doors that represent the pillars of an
ideal Wolverine: scholarship and athlet-
ics. For someone who loves the University
as much as Moore does, it’s only fit that he
embodies those traits so well.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015 // The Statement
10B
T
hough the season had been over for
almost a week, LSA senior Nicole
Elmblad was still on duty as captain
of the women’s basketball team on April 7.
With two teammates feeling sick, she picked
up popsicles to help ease their pain.
The two-time Academic All-American,
three-time Academic All-Big Ten, and two-
year captain — voted in unanimously by her
teammates both years — has excelled on
the basketball court. After all, she does hold
the records for most games played (133) and
wins (82). But her efforts on campus have
been noticed as well.
Majoring in Biopsychology, Cognition,
and Neuroscience, Elmblad has over a 3.9
GPA and hopes to attend medical school.
She will take a gap year following gradu-
ation with plans to participate in hospital
research and take the MCAT.
Elmblad grew up in St. Ignace, located at
the southernmost tip of the Upper Peninsu-
la, in a “Michigan family,” and her long love
for the University is constantly demonstrat-
ed through her participation on campus.
She has been involved with the Student-
Athlete Advisory Committee since her
sophomore year, along with volunteering for
a variety of other organizations. She helped
plan Maize Night Madness pep rally and
volunteers at Mott Children’s Hospital and
Food Gatherers.
“When she talks about the University of
Michigan, she gets super emotional,” Michi-
gan coach Kim Barnes Arico said in Novem-
ber. “She loves this place and what our
University stands for and what our program
stands for. For her, it’s about being a part of
something bigger than herself.”
This season, the Wolverines weren’t able
to return to the NCAA Tournament and
endured a few tough losses during their
season, including falling to Minnesota in
double overtime and getting kicked out of
the Big Ten Tournament by Michigan State
in the second round.
Elmblad was able to keep her team’s spir-
its high throughout it all.
“It’s never easy to go through a stretch
where you’re losing games, especially at the
end of the season when we had put ourselves
into a really good position to potentially
make a run in the Big Ten Tournament and
get a berth into the NCAA (Tournament),”
Elmblad said.
“And to see a tough stretch in Febru-
ary, it’s hard to keep your team motivated,
but I think you’re able to do that if you set
a tone right from the beginning of the sea-
son that no matter what the circumstances
are, you’re going to work hard and come into
practice every day with a great attitude.”
Elmblad
exemplified
that
attitude
throughout the WNIT, and her numbers
speak for themselves. After averaging 7.4
points and 6.8 rebounds in the regular
season, she averaged 10.4 points and 8.2
rebounds in the postseason to help lead her
team to the semifinals of the tournament.
Her performance didn’t go unnoticed and
she was named to the WNIT all-tourna-
ment team.
“(Being named to the WNIT all-tour-
nament team) was definitely really cool,”
Elmblad said. “I’m very thankful for the
way that my career ended. Even though we
didn’t necessarily win the championship, I
couldn’t have thought of a better way to end
it out on Crisler in front of friends and fam-
ily.
“I was having fun that whole tournament.
Looking back on it, I thought I was playing
my best basketball at the end of the season.”
Even near the end of her career, Elmblad
was always finding a way to improve her
game. But those individual achievements
are often shrouded by her outstanding char-
acter, and she wouldn’t have it any other
way.
“She’s the most unselfish kid in the pro-
gram, and I think her teammates truly value
that,” Barnes Arico said in November. “They
value how hard she works every day. They
value her commitment to the success of our
program, but also her commitment to Mich-
igan.”
And that’s why, even a week after her
duties as captain were up, she didn’t mind
spending some extra time on her team-
mates.
By Vanessa Wong, Daily Arts Writer
By Kelly Hall, Daily Sports Writer
LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/DAILY
SAN PHAM/DAILY