NIAGARA UNIV., N.Y. – Isabella DeSimone has earned the Kevin Mulkern Senior Athlete Award.

The award is a gift of the family and friends in memory of Kevin Mulkern. Mulkern, a native of Portland, Maine, served as an assistant swimming coach at NU while he was pursuing his master's degree. He passed away in 1970. Since 1976, the award has been given annually to a senior student-athlete who typifies the Niagara spirit. The nominee must be a member of the graduating class, must have been a member of a varsity team during the past academic year and must represent the highest ideals of sportsmanship, competition and fair play in the spirit of Niagara University.

"Bella absolutely typifies the Niagara spirit and Vincentian values," said head coach Eric Bugby. "When I search for future NU student-athletes each year, they must have the same ambition and drive as Bella. Her personality is unlike any other on the team and she gives a unique perspective that is sincere, direct and objective. She has been nothing short of remarkable in and out of the pool."

DeSimone was a four-year member of the Purple Eagles swimming and diving team and she served as a team captain during the 2020-21 season. She was a member of the program record-setting relay teams in the 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay, 200 free relay and 400 free relay and holds Oxy Aquatic Center pool records in the 50 back and the 400 medley relay. DeSimone holds top-10 program times in the 100 back, the 50 free and the 100 free.

DeSimone earned a degree in nursing and spent countless hours working in the field and volunteering. During her senior year, she did a rotation at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, where she educated the underserved population on substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and nutrition and worked with individuals, families and groups to plan or implement programs designed to help improve the overall health of the community. She also did a rotation in the Psychiatric Unit at ECMC in Buffalo, where she completed behavioral assessments on patients.

DeSimone completed a clinical internship in the Cardiac Telemetry Unit at Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital, where she worked alongside a registered nurse to provide care to patients during the Covid-19 pandemic. DeSimone also did rotations in medical surgical nursing at Kenmore Mercy Hospital and ECMC and in pediatric/obstetrics nursing at Golisano Children's Hospital.

DeSimone volunteered a great deal of her time to both the campus and local communities, including helping to administer Covid-19 vaccines at the Kiernan Center. She was the Vice President of her freshman and sophomore classes at NU and, while part of student government, she completed multiple food and toy drives and fundraisers during the Christmas season.

DeSimone, who maintained a grade point average of 3.40, was a six-time Dean's List honoree and was named to the MAAC All-Academic Team twice. She was a member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and the Student Nurses Association.

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