ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. -- Recent graduate Laura Cardona was chosen as the 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year nominee for Elizabethtown College. Cardona was a member of the women's cross country and track & field programs prior to graduation this past May. 

Currently in Taiwan as a part of her Critical Language Scholarship for Mandarin, Cardona excelled both on the track and in the classroom for the Blue Jays. A Dean's List and Landmark Conference Fall and Spring Academic Honor Roll honoree, Cardona was awarded the prestigious scholarship to study Mandarin in 2023, the first Etown student to earn the CLS from the U.S. Department of State since 2016.

She was a two-time All-Landmark Conference selection in the 400-meter hurdles. Cardona was the runner-up at the 2022 and 2023 Landmark Outdoor Championships.

No stranger to awards, Cardona received honors from the College across multiple departments during her time on campus. In 2019, she was awarded the Stamps Scholarship, which is given to those for academic excellence, leadership service, and character, and was awarded the Outstanding Attorney Award at the Blue Jays Mock Trial. Cardona was awarded the US Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (Persian), and the Mid-Atlantic E.U. Simulation Hames A. Blessing Award in 2020, and was named the Etown Sophomore Distinguished Student Award in 2021. During her junior and senior years, she was named the recipient of the Department of State Critical Leadership (Chinese) and was Financial Executives International Senior Award, respectively.

Cardona's participation in her Mandarin studies at Tamkang University (TKU) in New Taipei City, Taiwan, goes from June 14 to August 10.

The 2023 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced at the NCAA 2024 Convention in January.