Emmanuel’s Joubert and FMU’s Gillespie chosen as Co-Murphy Osborne recipients
GREENVILLE, S.C. - Jeandre Joubert of Emmanuel and Kaylee Gillespie were named co-recipients of the 2023-24 Murphy Osborne Award.
The Murphy Osborne Award is Conference Carolinas' Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete Award.
Joubert, a member of the Emmanuel men’s swimming and men’s triathlon teams has carried a 4.0 GPA while majoring in Biology. In his time in Franklin Springs, Georgia, Joubert has been named to the Presidential Honor Roll and Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll six times.
The 2023 and 2024 Conference Carolinas Elite 23 Award Presented by McGriff Insurance Services recipient also garnered Scholar-Athlete of the Month in August of 2023 from Emmanuel. He is a two-time academic All-American in triathlon.
In the pool, Joubert won three Conference Carolinas championships, coming in 2021,2022 and 2023 and was a nine-time Conference Carolinas finalist. In triathlon he was a national qualifier in 2023 after earning second team all-conference accolades and finishing runner-up in the conference championships.
Joubert is also active on campus, serving as an academic resource tutor and working as an admissions counselor. Along with serving as a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member, Joubert has also served as the Student Government Association (SGA) vice president and president. He served as the lead resident assistant (RA) for two years and served on the Emmanuel Impact Board as well as the Emmanuel Serve Board. Joubert was also a member of the International Student Organization Board and an Emmanuel Foundations Peer Mentor.
Gillespie, a member of the Francis Marion women’s volleyball team, was a four-year starter for the Patriots and a team captain for three years. She carried a 3.986 GPA while majoring in psychology and management. She also has a minor in psychology and human resource management.
She was a three-time All-Conference Carolinas selection, twice being named to the first team. She ranks third all-time at Francis Marion with 3,580 career assists and is the only Patriot in history to eclipse 3,000 assists, 1,000 digs and 130 service aces. Gillespie received the Francis Marion Frankie Award for the Mark Haselden Sportsmanship Award in 2022-23 and is a three-time team MVP.
Gillespie was twice named academic All-Conference Carolinas and is a two-time College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honoree. She is also a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, the national college athlete honor society. She was a four-time participant in the SAAC Mentor-Mentee program and earned the D2ADA Academic Achievement Award twice. Gillespie was named to the Francis Marion Swamp Fox Athletic Academic Honor Roll seven times.
Away from campus, Gillespie serves as a behavior technician at Beyond the Spectrum, LLC and at the YMCA. She also volunteered as a Student Shadow at the Francis Marion ABA Clinic for Autism and as a volleyball coach for various clinics and camps.
Student-Athletes for the Murphy Osborne Award are nominated by their institutions based on their academic, athletic and service accomplishments. The Faculty Athletic Representatives (FARs) from all Conference Carolinas institutions submit institutional nominations and votes are cast by the FARs.
To be eligible for the award, the student-athlete must be a December or May graduating senior or a first-year graduate student completing athletic eligibility at the same institution as undergraduate matriculation. The student-athlete must be a full-time student at the time of nomination, must have been a full-time student at the member school for at least two years and must be a starter or important substitute in a conference sport.
The award is named for longtime educator and college and university administrator Dr. Murphy Osborne.
2023-24 Conference Carolinas Murphy Osborne Award Winners
Jeandre Joubert, Emmanuel
Kaylee Gillespie, Francis Marion
2023-24 Conference Carolinas Murphy Osborne Award Finalists
Chase Eaton, Barton
Thomas Thierfelder, Belmont Abbey
Ashley Mayes, Chowan
Sydney Wilson, Converse
Jeandre Joubert, Emmanuel
Kacper Rybarczyk, Erskine
Kaylee Gillespie, Francis Marion
Warren Davis, King
Cami Belin, Lees-McRae
Morgan Prots, Mount Olive
Aniah McManus, UNC Pembroke
Mark Autry, North Greenville
Abbey Frock, Southern Wesleyan
Emily Flynt, Young Harris