Brenau University swimmer Olga Bukowska has been selected as the 2025-26 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Champions of Character Award winner.
The national award, named in honor of former NAIA and U.S. Olympic Committee President Dr. LeRoy Walker, is given each year to an outstanding student-athlete for their academics, athletics, leadership, and dedication to living the Champions of Character core values. Only one student-athlete is selected each year from among the thousands competing at the more than 230 NAIA member schools.
“This award is a great honor and a symbol of trust put in me, and I am truly grateful for this recognition, yet I cannot say I achieved this award all alone,” she said. “If not for the atmosphere of encouragement to be something more, created by Brenau, chances given, opportunities provided, trust bestowed, and people met, especially the girls on our team, I would not be able to become who I am today.”
It’s the third significant award of 2026 for Bukowska, who is a senior this year. She was named the Appalachian Athletic Conference’s Colonel John Sullivan Female Student Athlete of Character in July and was also awarded Brenau’s Baxter-Bryan Scholarship in the spring, the university’s highest academic honor.