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Simpson, Smith Earn 2026 Heidrick Family Scholarships
7/9/2026 12:00:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse, Swimming & Diving, Athletics
DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke student-athletes Austin Simpson (men's swimming & diving) and Sydney Smith (women's lacrosse) were named recipients of the Heidrick Family Leadership Post Graduate Scholarships.
The Heidrick Family Leadership Post Graduate Scholarships were established through a generous gift by Bob Heidrick and his family. The recipients are chosen not only for what they have contributed to the leadership community within Duke Athletics, but also by who they are as people, how they have grown in the area of leadership and how they have used their leadership development to enhance the community during their undergraduate career at Duke University.
The selection is viewed as an investment in the individual rather than on their athletic accomplishments. It is the investment in the excellence of his/her character, in the qualities of leadership possessed by the individual, commitment to others and the potential for service through outstanding leadership in the future.
Two scholarships will be awarded in the amount of $10,000 each to two graduating Duke student-athletes. The funds will be applied toward the continuation of their academic endeavors at the graduate or professional school level. Funds must be used within three years of each recipient's graduation from Duke University.
Simpson was an instrumental part of the Duke swimming and diving team over the last four seasons and served as a team captain during the 2025-26 campaign. As a senior, the New York, New York, native totaled 14 top-five placements, including a runner-up showing in the 500-yard freestyle at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships. For his career, Simpson competed at 39 meets as a Blue Devil and totaled 42 top-five placements. He swam at the ACC Championships each season during his time at Duke and finished his career ranked eighth in the 500 free and 1650 free, and ninth in the 1000 free on the Duke top-10 list.
Outside of the pool, Simpson was involved in a number of on-campus organizations. He worked as a team leader (Fall 2023 and 2024) and project director (2024-25) with the Duke University Experiential Orientation, a program designed to help incoming students in their transition to college through team-building, engaging excursions, leadership development and a commitment to building healthy habits. In addition to his time with the orientation program, Simpson was a programming coordinator for Blue Devil Days this past spring, a four-year member of the Greg Dale Leadership Program and a three-year participant in the Duke ACE Program. Simpson also aided in the coordination of Duke swim & dive's involvement with Team IMPACT, an organization that connects children with serious illnesses and disabilities with college athletic teams for mentorship, and served on the Duke Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the last two-plus years.
Simpson's service also stretched out to the Durham and New York communities. Simpson was the curriculum instructor at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, designing and teaching a course on the dominant scientific practices in agriculture, manufacturing, energy and medicine, along with producing unique and captivating lesson plans to best deliver the content to high school students. In Durham, Simpson was the director of the Duke "Swimming with the Blue Devils" program, coordinating monthly Duke varsity swimmer and diver-led free water safety clinics for underserved youth. He also helped reinstate a Duke-Durham neighborhood partnership to serve local families and increase access to swim instruction, creating lasting contacts with Durham elementary schools to provide relevant information about the program.
In the classroom, Simpson graduated magna cum laude with a 3.973 career GPA and earned his degree in biology (concentration in marine sciences) and evolutionary anthropology (concentration in anatomy and paleontology) with a minor in chemistry. He was selected as one of seven scholars for the competitive Duke University Scholars in Marine Medicine undergraduate research program that combines marine science with medicine. The four-time Dean's List with distinction honoree was a four-time All-ACC Academic Team selection.
Smith was a steady presence for the Duke women's lacrosse team and served as a pivotal piece for the Blue Devil defense. A three-year member of the team's leadership council, she totaled 20 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers during the 2025-26 season. For her career, Smith played in 64 games with 39 starts and scooped up 40 ground balls and compiled 38 caused turnovers.
The Mt. Airy, Maryland, product was involved in numerous extracurriculars at Duke. Smith was a member of the Duke SAAC Executive Board for the last three years, most recently serving as the president during the 2025-26 academic year. In her role, she acted as a representative and liaison between the administrative faculty and student-athletes at Duke and across the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Along with her work on the Duke SAAC committee, Smith was the secretary for Duke's United Black Athletes (UBA) organization, a member of the Duke ACE program, and ACTION mentor and an ACC Unity Tour delegate. In the community, Smith was a coach and counselor for Duke women's lacrosse camps, the McDonough School and young girls in the local Durham community.
Smith performed exceptionally in the classroom, graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology with a 3.893 career GPA and earning Dean's List distinction three times. She conducted an honors thesis on intuitive eating in Division I lacrosse players and was involved in numerous research opportunities during her academic career, including the motivated cognition and aging brain lab and Bass Connections: DukeIMPACT. Smith earned the 2026 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship, was an ACC Top Six for Service Award and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar recipient in 2024, in addition to being a four-time All-ACC Academic Team selection and 2025 IWLCA Academic Honor Roll honoree.
#GoDuke
The Heidrick Family Leadership Post Graduate Scholarships were established through a generous gift by Bob Heidrick and his family. The recipients are chosen not only for what they have contributed to the leadership community within Duke Athletics, but also by who they are as people, how they have grown in the area of leadership and how they have used their leadership development to enhance the community during their undergraduate career at Duke University.
The selection is viewed as an investment in the individual rather than on their athletic accomplishments. It is the investment in the excellence of his/her character, in the qualities of leadership possessed by the individual, commitment to others and the potential for service through outstanding leadership in the future.
Two scholarships will be awarded in the amount of $10,000 each to two graduating Duke student-athletes. The funds will be applied toward the continuation of their academic endeavors at the graduate or professional school level. Funds must be used within three years of each recipient's graduation from Duke University.
Simpson was an instrumental part of the Duke swimming and diving team over the last four seasons and served as a team captain during the 2025-26 campaign. As a senior, the New York, New York, native totaled 14 top-five placements, including a runner-up showing in the 500-yard freestyle at the CSCAA National Invitational Championships. For his career, Simpson competed at 39 meets as a Blue Devil and totaled 42 top-five placements. He swam at the ACC Championships each season during his time at Duke and finished his career ranked eighth in the 500 free and 1650 free, and ninth in the 1000 free on the Duke top-10 list.
Outside of the pool, Simpson was involved in a number of on-campus organizations. He worked as a team leader (Fall 2023 and 2024) and project director (2024-25) with the Duke University Experiential Orientation, a program designed to help incoming students in their transition to college through team-building, engaging excursions, leadership development and a commitment to building healthy habits. In addition to his time with the orientation program, Simpson was a programming coordinator for Blue Devil Days this past spring, a four-year member of the Greg Dale Leadership Program and a three-year participant in the Duke ACE Program. Simpson also aided in the coordination of Duke swim & dive's involvement with Team IMPACT, an organization that connects children with serious illnesses and disabilities with college athletic teams for mentorship, and served on the Duke Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) for the last two-plus years.
Simpson's service also stretched out to the Durham and New York communities. Simpson was the curriculum instructor at Riverdale Country School in the Bronx, designing and teaching a course on the dominant scientific practices in agriculture, manufacturing, energy and medicine, along with producing unique and captivating lesson plans to best deliver the content to high school students. In Durham, Simpson was the director of the Duke "Swimming with the Blue Devils" program, coordinating monthly Duke varsity swimmer and diver-led free water safety clinics for underserved youth. He also helped reinstate a Duke-Durham neighborhood partnership to serve local families and increase access to swim instruction, creating lasting contacts with Durham elementary schools to provide relevant information about the program.
In the classroom, Simpson graduated magna cum laude with a 3.973 career GPA and earned his degree in biology (concentration in marine sciences) and evolutionary anthropology (concentration in anatomy and paleontology) with a minor in chemistry. He was selected as one of seven scholars for the competitive Duke University Scholars in Marine Medicine undergraduate research program that combines marine science with medicine. The four-time Dean's List with distinction honoree was a four-time All-ACC Academic Team selection.
Smith was a steady presence for the Duke women's lacrosse team and served as a pivotal piece for the Blue Devil defense. A three-year member of the team's leadership council, she totaled 20 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers during the 2025-26 season. For her career, Smith played in 64 games with 39 starts and scooped up 40 ground balls and compiled 38 caused turnovers.
The Mt. Airy, Maryland, product was involved in numerous extracurriculars at Duke. Smith was a member of the Duke SAAC Executive Board for the last three years, most recently serving as the president during the 2025-26 academic year. In her role, she acted as a representative and liaison between the administrative faculty and student-athletes at Duke and across the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Along with her work on the Duke SAAC committee, Smith was the secretary for Duke's United Black Athletes (UBA) organization, a member of the Duke ACE program, and ACTION mentor and an ACC Unity Tour delegate. In the community, Smith was a coach and counselor for Duke women's lacrosse camps, the McDonough School and young girls in the local Durham community.
Smith performed exceptionally in the classroom, graduating with a bachelor's degree in psychology with a 3.893 career GPA and earning Dean's List distinction three times. She conducted an honors thesis on intuitive eating in Division I lacrosse players and was involved in numerous research opportunities during her academic career, including the motivated cognition and aging brain lab and Bass Connections: DukeIMPACT. Smith earned the 2026 ACC Postgraduate Scholarship, was an ACC Top Six for Service Award and Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar recipient in 2024, in addition to being a four-time All-ACC Academic Team selection and 2025 IWLCA Academic Honor Roll honoree.
#GoDuke
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