« Women’s Basketball 2015-16

Malina Howard

School
University of Maryland
Position
Center
Major
Pre-Med

Classroom

Malina Howard has been nothing short of a stellar student since she arrived on campus four years ago. She is a pre-med student and already graduated with her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in just three years. Currently, she is doing post-graduate work to prepare for medical school. Howard was awarded the prestigious Elite 89 Award, an honor that is given to the student-athlete at the Final Four with the highest GPA, for reaching the pinnacle of both athletic and academic success. Howard also received the University of Maryland’s first Big Ten Medal of Honor, which is awarded to one male and one female student-athlete from the graduating class of each member institution who has demonstrated excellence on and off the field throughout their college career. She has received Academic All-Conference honors in every year of her career (ACC in 2013, 2014 and Big Ten in 2015). Howard is highly active in Maryland Athletics, serving as the vice president on the Student Athlete Advisory Council, which works on community service ventures. She is a member of a national leadership and scholarship honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa and is in her second year on the library council.

Character

Malina Howard exemplifies a model person, student and athlete and what the University of Maryland and Maryland women’s basketball represents. Howard is one of those people who brightens every room she enters and brings positivity, joy and encouragement to all of those around her. Her positive ways helped her become the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award winner for women’s basketball, as well as all of the University of Maryland. Howard is a leader for her teammates on and off the court with her attitude, selflessness and maturity.

Community

As the vice president on Maryland’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee, Malina Howard is extremely active in organizing community service projects not just for the women’s basketball team, but for all of Maryland Athletics. Howard has helped organize student-athlete participation in food drives, fundraising runs, Thanksgiving turkey dinner giveaways, trips to the food pantry and so much more. She was involved with holiday community service for children at a local mall last year and this year, and she has been instrumental in the Terrapins’ involvement in Team Impact this year, through which the team was matched with a child with multiple diagnoses. This special little girl will soon be “drafted” to the Terrapins, and Howard has played a huge role in that process.

Competition

Howard has been a three-year starter for the Big Ten Champion and Final Four Terrapins. She’s been a mainstay in their lineup for all three years of her career, playing in 105 of 106 games in her career and averaging 20.5 minutes per game. As a junior in the Terrapins’ 2014-15 Final Four season, Howard started in every game and averaged six points per game with 4.6 rebounds.