Luther's Jersie Benson Named Youth Bowling Ambassador of the Year

ARLINGTON, Texas — Jersie Benson of Evansdale, Iowa, has been chosen by the International Bowling Campus Youth Committee as the 2024 United States Bowling Congress Youth Ambassador of the Year. The annual award recognizes one female and one male USBC Youth bowler for exemplary academic accomplishments, community involvement and contributions to the sport of bowling outside of league or tournament play. Winners are chosen based on submitted applications, and each will receive a $1,500 scholarship. Benson, 20, is a shining example of someone who has used bowling as a companion to her work in the classroom and as a volunteer to become a person who is truly representative of the award. Benson was caught a bit off guard when she was told she had won the award. "Honestly, I couldn't believe it when I was told I won," Benson said. "I guess I wasn't really expecting it at all. While the phone call was happening, my eyes just got bigger and bigger, and all I could think was that I had to call my dad and tell him. I was so excited." Benson just finished her sophomore year at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where she is an English major preparing for a career as a librarian. Benson graduated from East Waterloo High School, where she participated in the UNI-CUE Talent Search Program. The program's mission is to encourage, inspire, challenge and support students in their efforts to achieve academic success with the goal of enrolling in a post-secondary educational institution. Benson currently participates in the TRIO program at Luther College. The TRIO Achievement Program guides and encourages participants throughout their journey, helping to optimize the college experience while mitigating obstacles and celebrating successes along the way. Benson was one of five Luther students to be awarded the Karen Julesburg TRIO scholarship for the 2023-2024 school year. Benson talked about her goal of becoming a librarian and why she feels that role is important in today's society. "I want there to be better representation of what libraries have to offer," Benson said. "It's not just the books; there are so many other resources that libraries feature. I think it's important to keep those resources available to everyone, because there aren't really other places like public libraries, and we need to protect them and help them grow." Benson was awarded the Dr. Andy Karantinos & Steve and Mildred Dress Scholarships through the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) District 14 for the 2023–2024 school year. The mission of AHEPA is to promote the ancient Hellenic ideals of education, philanthropy, civic responsibility, family and individual excellence through community service and volunteerism. She is a Dean's List student and received the President's Award for Educational Excellence. On the volunteer front, Benson has donated her time and talent to Hope City Church, Heartland Vineyard Church, the Cedar Bend Humane Society and the Northeast Iowa Food Bank. "I've worked on a lot of food drives for various organizations," Benson said. "It's a lot of fun working those, and I've seen the impact those food drives have. It's a great feeling when your volunteer opportunity provides direct help to people." On the lanes, Benson was a four-year member of the girls' bowling team in high school that won a pair of conference championships and finished in the top five in the state tournament (including one championship) during three of her four years. She is now a member of the inaugural women's bowling team at Luther College, which just completed its first year of competition. "This was the very first time having a women's bowling team at Luther, so it was almost like a test run for the program," Benson said. "It was really fun, and I met a lot of people that I would have never met here on campus if the team hadn't been created, so I'm very grateful for that." Bowling also has served another purpose in her life. "I've had some issues with anxiety, and that's been one of the biggest roadblocks in my life," Benson shared. "I think bowling has helped me because with anxiety comes self-isolation, and having that schedule of going to practice and bowling in tournaments has helped me be more social and has helped regulate that anxiety." Due to her dedication to her studies, hours of volunteer work and time spent bowling, winning the award carried a great deal of significance to Benson. "It means a lot to me because I can't really fathom sometimes how other people perceive me," Benson said. "It's just nice to be recognized for all my efforts." Jersie was also featured in the July 2024 USBC Bowlers Journal magazine for being the Youth Ambassador award winner. Become a part of the exclusive circle! Subscribe to the newsletter for free and gain access to special offers, bonus content and insider perks.