March 27, 2002
University of Kentucky student athletic trainer Matthew Summers has been chosen as the winner of the eighth-annual Trent DiGiuro Memorial Scholarship.
The scholarship fund was established by friends and family of former UK offensive guard Trent DiGiuro, who died on July 17, 1994. Trent’s parents, Mike and Ann DiGiuro, officially established the fund on Oct. 24, 1994.
The fund provides one or more scholarships each year to students who:
- are walk-on (non-scholarship) football players at UK,
- have played on the football team at least two years,
- have maintained a cumulative grade-point average of at least 2.5, and
- best exemplify the dedication, determination, hard work, and leadership typified by Trent DiGiuro.
If no walk-on player meets the above criteria, the scholarship is awarded to a team manager or athletic trainer who has completed two years of service, maintained a cumulative GPA of at least 2.5, and has exemplified the dedication, determination, hard work, and leadership typified by Trent DiGiuro.
Summers is in his fourth year as a student assistant for the UK athletic training staff. He has spent two years with the football team, one year with men’s basketball, and one year with men’s tennis. In the summers of 2000 and 2001, he worked as an intern with the San Diego Chargers athletic training staff. He has accepted an offer to work with the Chargers in the 2002 season.
Summers will complete his UK degree in the summer. He has a 3.3 overall grade point average and will receive a degree in kinesiology. He is from Bardstown, Ky.
“Trent’s family had a great idea to honor him by creating the scholarship,” Summers said. “It is an excellent scholarship and it is an honor for me to represent UK in this way.”
Trent DiGiuro was from Goshen, Ky., and earned all-district honors at South Oldham High School. He came to UK as a walk-on offensive lineman in 1991. Through hard work and perseverance, he began earning playing time in 1993 as the Wildcats advanced to the Peach Bowl. In the off-season, he posted the best bench press on the team and he finished 1994 spring practice as the starting right guard. Trent also made steady progress in his academic work and earned a place on the 1993 Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll.
The first DiGiuro Scholarship was given in 1995 to placekicker Brent Claiborne. Subsequent scholarships have been awarded to manager Andrew Cline (1996), athletic trainer Patrick Sininger (1997), linebacker Stephan Walters (1998), tight end Cheddi Acham (1999), wide receiver Alex Herman (2000), and wide receiver Corry Doyle (2001).
