San Francisco, CA -- After finishing her playing career in the Super Regionals of the NCAA Division II Golf Tournament, current women's golf student volunteer Andrea Nieto has turned to her other passion, racking up the awards and recognition in the fashion world as she works towards her degree. Nieto was most recently named a finalist for the prestigious Geoffrey Beene Scholarship Award and added yet another feather in her cap for the future. 

"Looking back at my year I can't believe all of the amazing opportunities that I have received," said Nieto. "It just seems magical. I'm grateful for having the guidance and mentoring of my director Rhona Mackenzie and the support of my family. I was motivated by Rhona to enter this competitions and winning was just amazing and unexpected. I'm working on my future plans but I don't like to predict my future so I go a day at a time and I give each my all."

Nieto, a native of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, was a Geoffrey Beane Scholarship Finalist in 2013, and actually won $10,000 in the Fashion Scholarship Fund competition only days after the Super Regional. But this year she upped the ante, as her win in the FSF competition put her in the running for the Geoffrey Beane Scholarship once again, and took home another $10,000 award for being a finalist here in 2014.

"I'm really excited for Andrea and her career in the fashion industry," said current head coach Elaine Harris. "She is a great example of an artist-athlete. She is serious about her fashion work, she is a leader in the weight room with the team and a great encourager on the golf course. Andrea brings such a great energy to the golf course and her love for the game is infectious. The team is wishing her luck in New York and we are looking forward to seeing the pictures of her fashion designs!"

After last year's award, Nieto was selected among a competitive pool for a design internship at BCBGMAXAZRIA by Max and Lubov Azria personally, and worked over the summer at the brand's corporate headquarters in Los Angeles. She added those honors to the lengthy list on the course, where she earned three straight National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar awards.

"Golf has given me skills for life that I have been able to translate into the working environment," said Nieto. "Golf taught me discipline, time management, teamwork and leadership. I learned to be humble because in golf one day you can be at the top and the next you can be at the very bottom, and that's life. The only shot that I can control is the one I'm standing on top of because the last one is already in the past and the next one doesn't exist. Golf taught me to be present and take a day a time. I'm forever grateful for my coaches, teammates and sport directors for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be part of the first women's golf team at ART U."

Although she has already said that she is taking it one day at a time, the future looks well for Andrea Nieto, who will be graduating with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Fashion, with a focus on Textile Design.